And so...this is what our country gets when it elects a Democratic Statist President and empowers an equally ideological Senate Majority Leader, who will negotiate with the world's most vile dictators and terrorist organizations, but vehemently refuse to acknowledge the will of their fellow citizens who maintain a principled view of Liberty, Constitutionality and American Exceptionalism.
Of course, get ready for more journalistic malpractice from the mainstream lib media, who will invariably put every Democratic politician they can find in front of a camera and microphone to blame those mean old, heartless Republicans...leading off with our dictatorial President no doubt.
Don't buy it for a minute!
P.S. The pic is a bit misleading, seeing as how Capitol Hill will be spry and abuzz first thing in the morning...minus all the exorbitant spending!
H/t: WZ
Related link: Woodward: If Shutdown or Debt Ceiling Causes Economic Crisis, It’s on the ‘President’s Head’
I guess there's a first for everything.
Rush said this Monday morning...
Sounds like someone was listening...
Besides the latest CR pitch calling for a year long delay of the individual mandate, it also puts Congress back under Obamacare, repealing the 75% subsidized health care coverage on the backs of the taxpayers that they voted for themselves a few weeks ago.
He's probably learned a thing or two from Cruz over the past week or so as well...(I don't want to say what it appears Boehner may have finally found, as to not jinx it)
“If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.”
“If you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, or Medicare, or Medicaid, or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have.”
~ Barack Hussein Obama II
Lie after lie after DAMN LIE!
And to confirm these lies, here's at least ten states where consumers may like their health care plans, but won’t be able to keep them (via TheDC):
1) California: 58,000 will lose their plans under Obamacare. The first bomb dropped in California with a mass exodus from the most populated state’s Obamacare exchange. Aetna, the country’s third largest insurer, left first in July and was closely followed by UnitedHealth. Anthem Blue Cross pulled out of California’s Obamacare exchange for small businesses as well.
Fifty-four percent of Californians expect to lose their coverage, according to an August poll.
2) Missouri: Patients of the state’s largest hospital system — which spans 13 hospitals including the St. Louis Children’s Hospital — will not be covered by the largest insurer on Obamacare exchanges, Anthem BlueCross BlueShield. Anthem covers 79,000 patients in Missouri who may seek subsidies on Obamacare exchanges, but won’t be able to see any doctors in the BJC HealthCare system.
3) Connecticut: Aetna, the third largest insurer in the nation, won’t offer insurance on the Obamacare exchange in its own home state, where it was founded in 1850. The reason? “We believe the modification to the rates filed by Aetna will not allow us to collect enough premiums to cover the cost of the plans and meet the service expectations of our customers,” said Aetna spokesman Susan Millerick.
4) Maryland: 13,000 individuals covered by Aetna and its recently-purchased Coventry Health Care won’t be able to keep their insurance plans if they want Obamacare subsidies on the exchanges. Aetna and Coventry canceled plans to offer insurance in the exchange when state officials wouldn’t allow them to charge premiums high enough to cover costs.
5) South Carolina: 28,000 people were insured by Medical Mutual of Ohio, SC’s second-largest insurance company, until it decided to leave the state entirely in July due to Obamacare’s “vast and quite complex” new regulations. Company spokesman Ed Byers said Medical Mutual’s patients would be switched over to United Healthcare plans instead.
6) New York: Aetna pulled out of New York’s exchange in late August in an effort to keep their plans “financially viable,” said Aetna spokeswoman Cynthia Michener.
7) New Jersey: 1.1 million Aetna customers are at risk in New Jersey, where the leading insurer also won’t be a part of the exchange. Just 2,600 patients purchase individual plans with the company, but any looking to take advantage of subsidies on the exchange for unaffordable employer-based insurance won’t be able to do with Aetna.
8) Iowa: Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Iowa’s largest health insurer, decided not to offer plans in the Obamacare exchange. It sells 86 percent of Iowa’s individual health insurance plans.
9) Wisconsin: Two of the three largest insurers in the state won’t offer plans on the exchange. United Healthcare and Humana patients will have to get a new health insurer to buy insurance on Obamacare exchanges.
10) Georgia: Just five insurers are participating in Georgia’s Obamacare exchange. Medical Mutual of Ohio left Georgia and Indiana as well as South Carolina, due to Obamacare regulations. Aetna, along with Coventry, also decided against participating in the George health exchange.
Obamacare wipes out existing health care plans...as it was always intended to.
ADDENDUM: The above covered Obamacare's impact on health care plans from ten states. But what of work hours and jobs?
IBD: Critics say the Affordable Care Act, with its employer mandate to provide health insurance, gives businesses an incentive to cut workers' hours. This year, report after report has rolled in about employers restricting work hours to fewer than 30 per week — the point where the mandate kicks in. Data also point to a record low workweek in low-wage industries.
Check out the extensive list compiled, state by state.
THIS!
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) released the following statement regarding Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's decision to block consideration of the House-passed Continuing Resolution to avoid a government shutdown.
“Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had the opportunity this afternoon to avert a government shutdown. Instead, he chose to kill the House’s bill to keep government open, a deliberate act to move towards a government shutdown. This is no surprise. After the House acted Saturday night, Sen. Reid refused to call the Senate back to service, instead leaving senators at home on vacation while a shutdown loomed. And he has apparently advised the President not to meet with House and Senate leaders of both parties. Harry Reid wants a shutdown, because, sadly, Democrats are putting politics above the needs of the American people. The New York Times explained why: because, as the Democrats believe “now is the time to break the power of Tea Party Republicans.”
"This is exactly the kind of DC-based thinking that makes Americans disdain Washington, DC. Democrats need to listen to the people and start working for the millions of Americans who are losing their jobs, wages, and healthcare benefits because of Obamacare. This is not a debate over a government shutdown; it’s a debate about how Obamacare is plaguing our economy. I will continue working to make sure the government stays open and Americans receive the same benefits as giant corporations and Congress under Obamacare. Until then, I hope the American people will continue to speak out against this disastrous, train wreck of a law and make DC listen."
UPDATE: Cruz is one Class Act! Cruz says he'll donate his salary to charity for each day that Harry Reid (and Barack Obama) shut down the government...
"Harry Reid should not force a government shutdown. I hope that Reid stops refusing to negotiate and works with the House to avoid a government shutdown, and, at the same time, prevent the enormous harms that Obamacare is inflicting on the American people.
If, however, Harry Reid forces a government shutdown, I intend to donate my salary to charity for each day the government is shut down. Elected leaders should not be treated better than the American people, which is precisely why hardworking Americans deserve the same Obamacare exception that President Obama has already granted Members of Congress."
You won't see Dingy and Barry make that kind of sacrificial gesture on behalf of the American people.
Here today (June 26 - September 15)...
Gone tomorrow (sometime between September 16 - 23)...
More from theWeeklyStandard:
The page in question is not a new one, as the webpage's Internet address remains the same, still containing the word "free": www.healthcare.gov/where-can-i-get-free-or-low-cost-care/. However, there is no notation anywhere on the page that it was revised; the change just appeared unannounced.
Other changes include dropping references to "dental" care and the availability of "prescription drugs," as well as exchanging the phrase "specialized care for more serious conditions" for the milder "referrals to specialized care."
Since President Obama has been emphasizing of late how inexpensive Obamacare will be for many Americans, advertising the availability of "free" health care might have been viewed as a deterrent to purchasing even the least expensive option from the government-run exchanges. Since the "bronze" and "silver" level plans that the president has recently been touting as equaling "the cost of your cable bill" and "less than your cell phone bill" will still entail significant out-of-pocket costs for medical care, "free" might still look more attractive to many on the lower end of the income scale. It may be that community health centers will still offer free care to some, but visitors to Healthcare.gov will no longer be made aware of the option.
Affordable it is not...and it damn sure isn't free either.
Well what do you know...finally some defiant resilience over the weekend. No, it's not defunding, but it is a delay. Whether that's helpful or hurtful in the longer run is up for debate. And let me remind readers once again that no total shutdown will occur, only a partial one, if any. Regardless though, there can be no mistaking that the ball's in Harry's court, even if the media won't say so...
BusinessInsider: The Republican-led House passed two amendments intended to chip away at the Affordable Care Act. One would delay the law by a year, a measure that passed by a 231-192 vote. The other permanently repeals a new tax on medical devices, which passed by a 248-174 vote.
Seventeen Democrats joined all 231 Republicans that voted in passing the medical-tax repeal. Two Democrats broke ranks and voted for a one-year delay, while two Republicans broke ranks and voted against it.
The White House said Saturday that President Barack Obama would veto any bill with the House-passed amendments. And the Democratic-controlled Senate is likely to table both amendments on Monday, sending back the so-called "clean" continuing resolution to the House just hours before the government is set to shut down.
House Republican leadership committed to the strategy in a rare Saturday session, and it earned broad support within the caucus.
“The House has again passed a plan that reflects the American people’s desire to keep government running and stop the president’s health care law," House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement.
"Now that the House has again acted, it’s up to the Senate to pass this bill without delay to stop a government shutdown. Let’s get this done.”
The House also passed — in a unanimous, 423-0 vote — a measure to pay members of the military in the event of a shutdown.
That last bit about ensuring military pay is very important...because that's always an Obama last resort (well, that and threatening Social Security payments).
If, as suspected, Reid wants to reject this latest bill and pass it back to the House at the 11th hour, then the only other offer should include no exemptions for Congress, for crony corporations, for unions, for anyone. Either way, it's still up to Harry Reid whether a partial shutdown is enacted.
Related link: Limbaugh: Make The Democrats Vote To Defend Their Getting A Heath Care Subsidy
UPDATE: I guess so...
Republican Senators have just successfully helped to defeat themselves and their party...the tally for cloture has exceeded the 60 vote threshold.
Waiting to see which RINOs will throw their meaningless votes towards Cruz's way now that they've made certain Reid's secured cloture and beaten the filibuster. On with the show vote!
Feckless bunch.
Roll call to follow (this will be the list to PRIMARY!)...
UPDATE: Well, that took no time...here's the headline from C-SPAN (bolding mine):
Senate Passes CR; Strips Obamacare Defunding Provision; House to Take Up Bill Saturday
Idiot RINOs with no strategy.
UPDATE II: Here's the roll call. I'll make this simple and list the RINOs who betrayed their constituents with meaningless political games and allowed our healthcare to be destroyed:
Alexander (R-TN)
Ayotte (R-NH)*
Barrasso (R-WY)
Blunt (R-MO)
Boozman (R-AR)*
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Chiesa (R-NJ)
Coats (R-IN)*
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Graham (R-SC)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Johnson (R-WI)*
Kirk (R-IL)*
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Thune (R-SD)
Wicker (R-MS)
Those designated with an asterisk (*) rode in on the tea party's coattails, which makes their actions even more despicable. All the rest are entrenched mush. ALL of these TRAITORS need to be PRIMARIED and/or RECALLED ASAP! THROW THESE BUMS OUT and replace them with CONSERVATIVES! Only then will we, scratch that, only then will AMERICA stand a chance against these Democratic statists who stand to maintain control otherwise. It's up to YOU!
Last night, Mark Levin spoke to a new 'historic figure'...that is, Ted Cruz, to talk about his Senate floor speech to defund Obamacare and the reaction to it. Mark also called for an official Levin Surge to flood D.C. with calls to vote no on cloture.
H/t: DailyRushbo
Using Scott Brown's rise and fall as merely an example of the overarching problem with the Republican Party, Rush proceeded to explain during yesterday's program precisely what this schism is between the Republican establishment and the party's base, particularly in regards to the current topic of socialized medicine. This message applies to so many more that fall under the category of establishment types who've turned their backs on the conservative base...
Have you noticed that the Republican Party has a -- oh, I don't know -- call it a weapon, if you will, that it wields against its own voters. What they say to the base is, "If you guys do this, we're gonna lose in 2014," or, "We're gonna lose in 2016, if you don't help us support us or help support us on amnesty or whatever it is.
"We're gonna lose." They always put it on us, and my opinion is, we're the only reasons they win when they do. This is what they either don't appreciate or don't like or don't even understand. But the Republican establishment not liking its conservative base isn't new. They didn't appreciate or like Reagan in the eighties. Now, when he won big, you know, success has many fathers. Everybody wanted to be in that light. Everybody wanted to be in that aura.
But behind the scenes, they couldn't wait for Reagan's term to end so they could get their hands back on the levers of power. The establishment's the establishment. Conservatives are small government, limited government. The establishment's pro-big government, no matter what party. It's where the money is, it's where the power is, and they don't want any part of limiting it. They just want to trade running it with the Democrats now and then. I'm sure they understand this, but they reject it.
This is where they don't take us seriously. ...
The Republican Party base has opposed any form of socialized medicine forever, no matter whose it was, no matter what name. Whether it was Hillarycare or Obamacare, the Republican Party has always opposed it, wanted no part of it. ...
The Republican base has been united on this anti-Obamacare pedestal for five years. From the first day Obama talked about it, the Republican base has been unified. It is no more opposed to it today than it was five years ago. The Republican Party base has been full-fledged, 150% against it from the first day.
The Republican base has not changed. The Republican base is who is consistent here. The Tea Party, the Republican base, you can count on who they are and what they believe and what they support and what they oppose. They have not changed. They have been very consistent, very reliable. The Republican Party's base has been united for five years in opposition to Obamacare -- and in those five years, the Republican base elected people who promised them that they would get rid of or at least try to stop it.
They gave them their money.
They gave every elected official who promised to stop Obamacare their money.
... It was the same for any other Republican running for office who convinced the Republican base that they were as opposed to Obamacare as the people are. The people supported them with money, with time, with get-out-the-vote efforts. So it eventuates that the people who empower Republicans by electing them have taken these Republicans at their word.
They have given them money, they have supported them, they've gone out and campaigned for them, they've manned phone banks for 'em. They have voted for them. They've done everything to get them elected. And today, many of those people who were the beneficiaries of that money, the beneficiaries of all of that time and effort, have now gone soft. They are personified by John McCain, Peter King, you name it. All of the people the last five years who engendered the trust and the support of the voters, a lot of them have faded away, and it turns out that they weren't what the voters thought they were.
And so now the base, which has been consistent, which is filled with support for people who promise one thing and then follow through on it. The reason Ted Cruz is so manifestly popular right now in the Republican Party is because he is doing exactly what he was elected to do. The people in Texas who elected him see him go to Washington and do exactly what he told them he was gonna do when he asked them for their support. But not every Republican, of course, can say this anymore, and as such they have lost support.
So what has happened now is that those Republicans are turning on the base and calling them extremists or wacko birds, whatever term McCain used. And now, after all of this love and support based on trust, the Republicans continue to hold over their heads defeat if they don't change, if the base doesn't change, if the base doesn't modify, if the base doesn't moderate, if the base doesn't get less, if the base doesn't become less demanding, the Republicans are gonna lose. And, meanwhile, all these people saw most of the candidates they supported win. And now defeat is an anvil being held over their heads unless they change.
This is why, within the base and within the Republican Party there's this, whatever you want to call it, lack of trust, diminishing support, what have you. And it's why whenever anybody like a Ted Cruz or a Mike Lee stands up, they're supported. It's substantive. It's not personality. The base is not interested in personalities or pop culture. These are issue oriented people who give their money and time to people they think are like-minded. This anvil of defeat that they keep holding over the Republican base head, I think it's just the exact opposite. I don't think we win -- and history bears this out, recent history -- I don't think we win the next election if this continues.
The Republican Party cannot successfully win by moving in the direction of the Democrat Party and then demanding its voters to do the same thing. That's when voters stay home and they stop writing donation checks. Now, I really don't know if the Republican Party doesn't know this or does know it and maybe they're tired of this base, they don't like this group of people as their base. Maybe the Republican establishment does not want a base that's conservative.
Maybe they're willing to lose a couple of elections in order to come up with what they think would be a new base, you know, comprised of some African-Americans and some Hispanics and some malcontent women. I don't know what they're doing. I don't know what base they want to trade us in for, but to some people it appears that's what they want to do.
If it's the latter, I wished they'd just come out and say it; because if they're planning on losing the next few elections, that'd give conservatives plenty of time to form a new principled party.
Levin says Obama's in 'full nut-job mode' today as he criss-crosses the nation (on the taxpayers' dime) back on his perpetual, manufactured campaign across the nation, making up and outright lying about the greatness of his healthcare dictate, as well as slandering the handful of conservatives that actually care to stop Obamacare's destruction...
H/t: DailyRushbo
In the midst of efforts to defund Obamacare before it's fully implemented, with mainstream media coverage demonizing the healthcare law's opponents, while defeatist Republicans give Democrats aid and comfort by attacking the conservative warriors of their own party, we begin to see leaks springing forth from the administration's media blackout, illustrative of just how volatile the so-called Affordable Care Act is. And wouldn't you know it...it ain't affordable!
Forbes: For months now, we’ve been waiting to hear how much Obamacare will drive up the cost of health insurance for people who purchase coverage on their own. [Tuesday] night, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services finally began to provide some data on how Americans will fare on Obamacare’s federally-sponsored insurance exchanges. HHS’ press release is full of happy talk about how premiums will be “lower than originally expected.” But the reality is starkly different.
Based on a Manhattan Institute analysis of the HHS numbers, Obamacare will increase underlying insurance rates for younger men by an average of 97 to 99 percent, and for younger women by an average of 55 to 62 percent. Worst off is North Carolina, which will see individual-market rates triple for women, and quadruple for men.
What? Yeah...prepare for the double down. Obamacare premiums will dramatically increase your costs! Of course, most of the media has sworn off the rate shock as myth, but obviously getting harder to hide the truth of the matter.
AP: Before tax credits that work like an up-front discount for most consumers, sticker-price premiums for a mid-range benchmark plan will average $328 a month nationally for an individual, comparable to payments for a new car.
FYI, that tax credit...yeah, that's a subsidy that will be billed to taxpayers. Oh, and don't count out co-pays and deductibles...
Politico: Consumers may have to dig a little deeper into their wallets to pay for health care in the Obamacare insurance exchanges, according to a new analysis by Avalere Health.
The study of six states suggests that consumers could face steep cost-sharing requirements — like co-payments, co-insurance and deductibles — layered on top of their monthly premiums.
The health law sets exchange enrollees’ maximum annual out-of-pocket costs at $6,350. But many people won’t get near that limit, and deductibles for typical exchange plans can run twice as high as the average employer-sponsored plan.
Uh oh...
So roll all that together, with the expected waits and deficiencies of socialized medicine, and as a previous report calculated, for a typical family of 4 (that'd be mine), your health spending will increase by about $7,450 over the next several years!
Forbes: It was one of candidate Obama’s most vivid and concrete campaign promises. Forget about high minded (some might say high sounding) but gauzy promises of hope and change. This candidate solemnly pledged on June 5, 2008: “In an Obama administration, we’ll lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year….. We’ll do it by the end of my first term as President of the United States.” Unfortunately, the experts working for Medicare’s actuary have (yet again[1]) reported that in its first 10 years, Obamacare will boost health spending by “roughly $621 billion” above the amounts Americans would have spent without this misguided law.
Between 2014 and 2022, the increase in national health spending (which the Medicare actuaries specifically attribute to the law) amounts to $7,450 per family of 4.
Yet somehow, these skyrocketing costs are supposed to be more affordable for us? That's nonsense. It needs to be defunded first, then ripped out by the roots!
Related links: Obamacare premiums expected to dramatically boost consumer costs
Obamacare's average monthly cost across U.S.: $328
ADDENDUM I: Here's a few reminders of the Great Deception...
ADDENDUM II: Rush says the media are now covering their ASSets on Obamacare...
"Folks, as I was perusing the news doing show prep today, it was really striking to note how many stories, how many articles that are out there this morning that detail all of the problems in Obamacare. It’s nothing you don’t know. You’ve heard it all. We have gone to great lengths since the beginning days of this. You know all the details. But what’s fascinating to me as I went through show prep today is how many articles are out this morning with new and troubling details about Obamacare.
That, to me, shows that the Drive-By Media now think Obamacare is totally safe from being repealed or defunded and now it’s time, for whatever journalistic reasons, to get all of the truth, the details, the news about Obamacare out there. Now, as I say, most of the news is information that the regular daily listener of this show has known about for more than three years, but the media has never reported it.
You know, all of these details, all of the waivers, all of the exemptions, all the fines. The hard numbers, all of these things have never been in the Drive-By Media, but it’s starting to show up. All of a sudden we’re now being told about it so that when people start seeing Obamacare up close and personal starting next week, the Drive-Bys can say, “Well, we reported that.” The news media are now covering their assets, if you will, and they’re doing it as late as possible."
Here's an excellent rally call from Allen West that needs to bore through the defeatist within the GOP, explaining what conservatives among the ranks know in their heart of hearts, what we believe, that even when the odds are stacked against us, we can still win. And it's proven time and time again throughout the history of mankind...
In the battle of Termopylae, Leonidis stood for what was right. He fought against Persian tyranny, against Xerxes; and though he did not win the battle, it was the tide-turning moment that lead to the Greeks' overall victory. As Ted Cruz stands in protest, and House members vote to defund Obamacare--should we give up the battle because it is very unlikely we will win it? Or should we stand firm for what's right; and can that stand have positive consequences elsewhere? Listen to Allen West's weekly commentary to find out.
H/t: theRightScoop
Related link: Allen West: If Rubio Runs For President “Of Course” I Would Run For Senate
Once again, McCain makes a complete ass of himself, his constituency and the party he claims to represent...
Freedom'sLighthouse: This is as low as it gets in politics. Sen. John McCain literally offering himself to become the mouthpiece of the Democratic attack machine against Sen. Ted Cruz. Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer even gleefully was the one to yield time to McCain so he could get up and make his attack today after Sen. Ted Cruz concluded his 21 hour, 19 minute filibuster against ObamaCare.
What came out of McCain’s mouth were pure Democratic talking points. He lauded Democrats for the way they conducted the original process that passed ObamaCare into law (which was partisan and used Reconciliation to pass the bill). He trotted out the “Elections have Consequences” line, as if Republicans now have an obligation to lay down and cede the field to Obama to do as he pleases.
John McCain embarrassed himself today, and doesn’t have the sense to even know it. The Democrats have him at their disposal to trot out and say whatever they want said. It’s a pathetic and sad spectacle. McCain is clearly jealous of Ted Cruz, and is out to ruin him. But McCain better know it won’t be Ted Cruz that Republicans reject going forward. It will be those like him who willfully side with the Democrats who are pushing policies that are destroying this nation.
Maverick? It's more blatantly apparent now than ever (if that's even possible) that McCain is a collaborator.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again...what a disgrace, Arizona.
Related link: John McCain PRAISES how Democrats passed Obamacare, says ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES…
ADDENDUM: Mark Levin went on the air tonight SLAMMING John McRINO as a ‘useful idiot for the Democrats’...
theRightScoop: Mark Levin hammered John McCain for being unwilling to engage Ted Cruz while he was on the floor for 21 hours, only to wait for him to finish to attack Cruz. Levin called McCain a ‘complete useful idiot for the Democrats’ and said he’s a pathetic Senator.
Listen here.
Related link: RUSH: The Unbridled Hate For Ted Cruz Is Striking
Following Ted Cruz's epic 21 hour filibuster on the Senate floor, he joined Rush to continue advancing the cause on the EIB network, discussing the defund effort as well as the 'defeatist attitude' within the GOP. Rush also emphasized how Cruz is 'fighting for the soul of his party.'
Rush was back this morning defending Cruz and calling out the Republican Establishment...
"Boy, folks, if this doesn't embody everything that a number of us have been trying to say and inform everybody about the Washington establishment, the Republican establishment. In these 21 hours, even the hours leading up to it, the criticisms of Ted Cruz from his own party. The attempt to ruin him and mock him in his own party and from the so-called conservative media. And then of all places Fox News trashing all over this, and Fox News essentially blaming me and other conservative media for making Ted Cruz what he is."
"The fact that even after 21 hours, even at the beginning of it, they cannot at least admit that this is who the man is. He doesn't need any advisers here. He doesn't need any pressure. The man is not a coward. Ted Cruz isn't afraid of anybody. The real question is, what is the Republican establishment afraid of? What are some of these conservative media types at Fox News afraid of? What is the Washington establishment on the Republican side afraid of? Government shutdown, losing elections, what do you guys think you've been doing?
Did you look at how many Republicans didn't show up to vote for Mitt Romney in 2008? Do you realize that if the Republican Party base had turned out, Obama would have been defeated? Why didn't it happen? When does fighting for freedom backfire? Explain that to me. Because that's what this is. I guess some of these establishment types in Washington, regardless of party, I don't think they really understand. I think there is such a divide in this country, it is so wide, that some people in politics, it's their business to understand these things. They don't even know what really is going on. I just heard Michael Barone say, "Well, this is nothing but theater. All Ted Cruz has done is engage in something that's impossible."
It's not theater. This is real. This is about freedom. I know to a lot of people that sounds corny. "Freedom, come on, Rush, our freedom isn't threatened." Oh, but it is. In ever so small, incremental losses, it is. It's what Obamacare is all about. It's precisely what Obamacare is all about, the loss of individual freedom, the loss of free markets. Ted Cruz is fighting for freedom in the greatest tradition of American freedom fighters. And how did so many Republicans manage to miss that fundamental American lesson?"
Related links: RUSH: Ted Cruz Just Drew The ‘Red Line’ On Obama And His Administration
If the GOP Establishment Can't Follow Through Now, What's the Point of Winning?
Ted Cruz, accompanied by Lee and several other young conservatives, are still at it after 20+ hours! His time will soon expire, since an agreement was made in which they technically don't want to call this a filibuster (you can guarantee Reid is chomping at the bit to shut his time down). But I just wanted to share a couple of thoughts explaining just what's going on and what this means for the conservative movement.
Ed Morrissey of HotAir writes:
No matter what one thinks of the strategy, Cruz’ performance has been impressive in every sense of the word. The “long speech” — it’s not really a filibuster, since debate has already been limited and a vote scheduled for today — has objectively raised the profile of the opposition to ObamaCare, and whether that would have worked better for a delay than defunding is really moot at this point.
Why is Cruz doing it? Heritage explains why he's standing against Obamacare:
MorningBell: Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) stood on the Senate floor yesterday to speak against Obamacare. He kept speaking all night and well into the morning.
Why? Because Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) wants to use procedural tricks to strip the House-passed bill of the provision that would defund Obamacare.
Reid wants to cut off debate and strong-arm funding for Obamacare, just as he strong-armed passage of this unfair, unworkable, and unaffordable bill three years ago. But if all the Senators who say they oppose Obamacare stand up to him—and stand together—they can stop him from funding Obamacare.
Related links: Cruz Eviscerates Obamacare, over and over and over...
Ted Cruz calls out the media for ignoring substance in Obamacare fight
Ted Cruz trounces Dick Durbin in colloquy on Obamacare
Back to Morrissey's piece...although there's much skepticism about any principled action taken by the current GOP leadership, Morrissey writes that according to Politico (of which there's equal skepticism), Boehner has the delay option ready to go once a bill is passed back to the House.
The House Republican leadership is seriously considering attaching a one-year delay of Obamacare’s individual mandate to the Senate bill to avert a government shutdown, according to senior GOP aides.
If House Republicans decide to go this route, it would all but provoke a government shutdown, since Senate Democrats might not even schedule a vote on a bill that includes that provision, Senate leadership staffers say. Even if the Senate schedules a vote, there might not be time to move the legislation through the slow-moving chamber.
We are talking about Boehner's resolve here, so, there's that. However, such a move would display a reasonable approach towards Obamacare's implementation. Morrissey adds:
A shutdown for a couple of days isn’t going to create a headache, but it might get the Senate to act with a little more alacrity to Boehner’s next submission. Republicans need to push the inequitable delays imposed by the White House against the consumers’ interest to demand an explanation why the whole train wreck shouldn’t be delayed to their benefit.
Related link: A brief history of government shutdowns (or 'scaled-back budgeting')
Bravo! We're standing with you!
Sen. Ted Cruz has taken to the Senate floor, denouncing Obamacare, and has vowed not to stop talking until he can’t stand anymore. The second Statesman in 2013 to defy the Democratic statists, while attempting to show a crippled, enabling Republican Party how to once again FIGHT for PRINCIPLE! And if ever there was an effort to fight for, defunding Obamacare is it...
Live C-SPAN coverage here.
Related links: Cruz Begins “Talking Filibuster” On Senate Floor, Vows To Speak “Until I Am No Longer Able To Stand” – Update: Harry Reid Whines: His Filibuster Isn’t Real
Sarah Palin talks Ted Cruz, Obamacare defunding with Cavuto
Last night, Mark Levin explained some further troubling insight. If a CR that included Obamacare defunding managed to find its way onto Obama's desk, he'd not only veto it, 'but he will do more than that.'
"Obama will unilaterally increase the debt ceiling in clear violation of the Constitution, commit an impeachable offense, and he's convinced that Congress will do nothing to defend its authority under Article I, nothing whatsoever. And he'd be right."
"I suspect Obama has back-channeled this and let Boehner & McConnell know that when push comes to shove, he will unilaterally raise the debt limit. And Boehner and McConnell wish to avoid such a threat, because they do not want to bring articles of impeachment against a president, if he did that, would certainly deserve to be removed from office. So instead, ladies and gentlemen, they're prepared to fund Obamacare, because they fear Obama more than they fear you."
They also don't have a big problem with Obamacare, as they dream of what that control might mean under their rule one day.
A 'glitch' you see. Afraid not. Like everything about it, this was by design...
USAToday: A “family glitch” in the 2010 health care law threatens to cost some families thousands of dollars in health insurance costs and leave up to 500,000 children without coverage, insurance and health care analysts say.
That's unless Congress fixes the problem, which seems unlikely given the House's latest move Friday to strip funding from the Affordable Care Act.
Congress defined “affordable” as 9.5% or less of an employee’s household income, mostly to make sure people did not leave their workplace plans for subsidized coverage through the exchanges. But the “error” was that it only applies to the employee — and not his or her family. So, if an employer offers a woman affordable insurance, but doesn’t provide it for her family, they cannot get subsidized help through the state health exchanges.
That can make a huge difference; the Kaiser Family Foundation said an average plan for an individual is about $5,600, but it goes up to $15,700 for families. Most employers help out with those costs, but not all.
“We saw this two-and-a-half years ago and thought, ‘Has anyone else noticed this?’” said Kosali Simon, a professor of public affairs at Indiana University who specializes in health economics. “Everyone said, ‘No, no. You must be wrong.’ But we weren’t, and that’s going to leave a lot of people out.”
Besides Twitchy pointing out the piece's flagrant blame Republicans aim, theRightScoop adds:
Obamacare was designed this way and Democrats and the president lied about the bill to the American people to pass it. On top of that Democrats who passed the bill refused to even read it and made excuses for why they weren’t going to read it. And now USA Today has the audacity to call this portion of a poorly designed law a ‘glitch’? Are you kidding me?
Just remember, whenever the Washington elite say it's for the children, know that something's about to be implemented towards the detriment of your children, not to their benefit.
It's now crystal clear where these GOP so-called leaders in the Senate stand. They refuse to support Cruz and Lee in any meaningful effort to prevent Reid and Democrats from restoring funds to Obamacare, which were stripped out of the House bill passed last week...
Here's McConnell and Cornyn's treachery...
Breitbart: A source in Congress tells Breitbart News that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn are using their leadership positions to pressure other Republicans to oppose Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in his campaign to defund Obamacare.
"Right now in the Senate, Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn are actively whipping Senators to shut down debate on the House continuing resolution so that Harry Reid can gut it with just 51 votes,” a senior congressional staffer with intimate knowledge of the situation said in an email to Breitbart News.
McConnell and Cornyn stated earlier Monday that they oppose a possible filibuster from Cruz to keep Reid from adding language funding the Affordable Care Act to the continuing resolution passed by the House of Representatives.
Instead of helping Cruz with their power as Senate GOP leaders, McConnell and Cornyn are working against him, this senior staffer said. But in the end, they will try to make it appear as though they do not support funding Obamacare by voting against Reid’s amendment after allowing Reid to implement it. “Once it's a 51-vote threshold, both McConnell and Cornyn will hide behind a 'no' vote on Reid's amendment—so they will have yet another show vote,” the staffer said.
Related link: Oh my: McConnell, Cornyn won’t join Cruz and Lee in filibustering House’s CR to defund ObamaCare
Shortly following their announcements, McCain joined in...
TheBlaze: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., took the same position in comments to reporters. “How can I vote against a bill that I support?” he asked rhetorically.
McCain surely knows Cruz is not asking his fellow senators to vote “no” on a bill that defunds Obamacare. Rather, Cruz is asking Republicans to essentially filibuster the bill to prevent Democrats from rewriting the bill and restoring funding to Obama’s health care overhaul, which they intend to do. The move seeks to force Democrats to vote for the bill as passed by the House, which funds the government other than Obamacare.
Related link: John McCain hates Ted Cruz
Win, lose or draw, don't miss the point. Cruz's strategy is two-fold: 1.) force Senate Democrats, particularly those facing reelection next year, to cast an up-or-down vote on the House's CR with Obamacare defunding intact, and 2.) provide an opportunity for Senate Republicans to unite together on principle and produce a meaningful vote towards the defund effort.
However, with the actions of GOP leaders in the Senate, they've enabled a two-fold strategy of their own: thwart conservatives, while aiding their Democratic counterparts. Can you really call them counterparts, though, when the results of their actions, or rather inactions, only secure Big Government statist control? These Republicans, and too many like them, are fellow statists of Washington's ruling class with their own grand visions for government control when or if they regain power. They care little for limited government...and thus, less for liberty.
Kentucky...Texas...next year, you have a real opportunity to return McConnell and Cornyn to private life, replacing them with Senators who will abide by and respect some semblance of principle. Sorry Arizona...you're stuck with McCain until Obama's out (said it before and I'll say it again, should have gone with Hayworth when you had the chance).
Once upon a time...there existed an alternative news network that appealed to principle, as well as a fair and balanced approach. Now, it just appeals to another political party...a misguided one at that...
Mediaite: Levin said that he doesn’t really see Fox as “conservative media” anymore but rather as “Republican media.”
The host began by remarking on just how much one can find Karl Rove on Fox’s air, saying he’s “like a bad rash, the guy never goes away.” Later, he gave his listeners a lesson about “entrenched Republicans who actually like big government, they just want to run it.”
He referred to “conservatives” as the “outsiders” who push the party in the right direction. Levin said that now, the Republican Party is actually using Fox News to try to “defeat” conservatives, “and it’s really quite remarkable.”
“I don’t see a big conservative media other than a handful of us on talk radio,” Levin said, “and a handful of columnists and a handful of websites on the internet.”
“I see a Republican media,” he said, referring to bigger establishment sources like Fox News that are “preaching accommodation, and surrender and moderation as conservatism.”
As much as I despise what the Democratic statists are doing to this magnificent country, the neo-statists are perhaps more revolting in their nonstop effort to go along by constantly attacking and silencing the very conservatives that make up their core base (or at least, once upon a time, not so long ago did). And if Mark and a handful of others don't call out the avenues that seem to promote the wrong side of this internecine fight, then who will?
Related link: Mark Levin Rants Against Fox’s Gutfeld, Perino, Rove for Doubting ‘Defund Obamacare’ Movement
Should've known better...
Leave it to Boehner, McConnell and the RINO consultant class to turn on Cruz & Lee's effort to defund Obamacare. Treachery in just a weekend. Only a feckless GOP can pull that off...
RedState: Don’t be fooled by this political theater going on in Washington, DC. The fix is in and both sides are trying to fund ObamaCare while saving face.
The whole of House Republican Leadership thinks you are stupid. They have passed a bill that they know will be changed by Harry Reid before it goes back to the House in a few days. The smoking gun will happen when Boehner allows a Senate passed government funding measure to come up in the House minus the provision defunding ObamaCare. You wait and see.
Also, know that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is in on this too. He is going to stand with Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) to save his Senate seat, but he knows that he has the power to stop this scheme.
And McConnell has fallen right in suit...
WashingtonExaminer: Minutes ago, Sen. Mitch McConnell's spokesman Don Stewart sent a statement saying the Senate Minority Leader will not join an effort led by Republican Sens. Ted Cruz and Mike Lee to filibuster a House-passed continuing resolution that also defunds Obamacare.
McConnell's decision is another major blow to the Cruz-Lee strategy. Earlier Monday, Sen. John Cornyn, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said that he, too, would not support the filibuster scheme.
Now back to that RedState piece...
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) have been fighting to defund ObamaCare. They have a plan. Fight Reid’s motion to strike the provision to defund ObamaCare and force 60 Senators to shut down debate on that proposition. Republicans win that fight then Reid has a take it or leave it proposition with the House Continuing Resolution that defunds ObamaCare.
The problem is that Cruz and Lee are being sabotaged by his own leadership. The House and Senate Republican leadership are to fearful of being blamed for a government shut down to fight this issue. They are running the white flag of surrender up the flag pole before a shot has even been fired.
Squishy House Republicans and House Leadership want to embarrass Cruz and Lee when they fail to get the defunding of ObamaCare across the finish line. Boehner set our guys up for failure — that is a fact.
Levin joined Cavuto today to talk about the battle against Obamacare and the battle against the 'French Republicans' who have no visible strategy to fight Obamacare (or really any of Obama's Big Government policies). He makes the case for why we must fight and counter Republicans' efforts to kneecap Cruz and Lee.
Related links: Fighting Democrats With One Arm Tied and a Knife in Our Backs
Mark Levin: Mitch McConnell just STABBED Ted Cruz and Mike Lee IN THE BACK
Palin: Light up Capitol Hill switchboards to defund Obamacare
Stage One complete! On to the Senate...
TheHill: The House on Friday passed legislation that defunds ObamaCare but would keep the government running through mid-December.
The legislation was approved on a party line 230-189 vote, with Rep. Scott Rigel (Va.) the only GOP no vote. Two Democrats voted for the measure, Reps. Jim Matheson (Utah) and Mike McIntyre (N.C.).
Passage of the bill sets up a showdown with the Senate, and moves the two sides closer to a possible government shutdown on Oct. 1.
The ObamaCare language is expected to be stripped from the bill in the Senate, setting up a critical week of negotiations next week. House Republicans have cancelled a planned recess to return to Washington Wednesday, and their leaders have warned the House could be in next weekend.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) bowed to conservatives in deciding to include the healthcare language in the continuing resolution. Republicans in the House had rejected an earlier proposal from their leaders that would have funded the government without defunding ObamaCare.
And in anticipation of Dingy Harry stripping out the defund portion to hurriedly hand it back to the House, Sen. Ted Cruz has vowed to filibuster if need be...
CBSNews: Conservative Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Thursday he'll do "everything necessary and anything possible to defund Obamacare," including attempting to filibuster any government funding bill that does not defund the health care law.
In a press conference with conservative House and Senate members, Cruz promised to filibuster such a bill and use "anything else, any procedural means necessary" to stop it.
Cruz, Lee and other conservatives in the Senate are going to need House Republicans to stay strong when this resolution returns to them. So, keep up the calls, faxes, emails and even visits to keep the pressure on your congressional members! Tell them, 'fund the government, but DEFUND OBAMACARE!'
Related link: EXCLUSIVE: PALIN -- BOMBS AWAY ON OBAMACARE; CRUZ IS OVER THE TARGET
ADDENDUM I: Just to note...all these MSM sources go on to say something about fears of the GOP losing next year's midterms in this risky move. Let me tell you, the GOP will ABSOLUTELY lose their own constituency if they don't try! There's also talk of Democrats having the upper hand in a government shutdown...only if the GOP allows the Democrats to be the only ones in front of a camera & a mic...so don't let 'em! Every Republican within this effort to fund the government, while defunding Obamacare, should be out there more vigorously than their blowhard opposition to dissect the lies and articulate the truth!
ADDENDUM II: Seriously guys, how hard is it to counter this...or this...or even this, when the healthcare law's clearly more unpopular than ever?! Defund it, while funding the rest of government. Much simpler to explain than to get through to these knuckleheads on the Hill.
Even though it has, to use the President's words, 'over a hundred times.'
Come on...the press can't even swallow this one...
CNSNews: Raising the debt ceiling doesn't increase the nation's debt, Pres. Obama declared in a speech [yesterday].
In a speech at the Business Roundtable headquarters in Washington, D.C., Obama dismissed concerns about raising the debt ceiling by noting that it'd been done so many times in the past:
"Now, this debt ceiling -- I just want to remind people in case you haven't been keeping up -- raising the debt ceiling, which has been done over a hundred times, does not increase our debt; it does not somehow promote profligacy. All it does is it says you got to pay the bills that you've already racked up, Congress. It's a basic function of making sure that the full faith and credit of the United States is preserved."
Obama went on to suggest that "the average person" mistakenly thinks that raising the debt ceiling means the U.S. is racking up more debt:
"It's always a tough vote because the average person thinks raising the debt ceiling must mean that we're running up our debt, so people don't like to vote on it, and, typically, there's some gamesmanship in terms of making the President's party shoulder the burden of raising the -- taking the vote."
But, isn't the fact that the U.S. has hit its debt ceiling "over a hundred times" - and, thus, has had to keep raising it - proof that raising the limit does, in fact, lead to increased debt?
However, I'm perplexed...why is Obama even talking debt limit, when the battle we find ourselves currently embroiled within involves a continuing resolution to fund our budgetless government tied together with the effort to defund Obamacare? He's trying to talk you into believing some fallacy about debt before the government prepares to pass more spending. And then he tops that off by insulting 'the average person' for not falling for the lie!
This man's a piece of work...and he's a two-term President. Sheesh, America.
Related links: BO: People Think Higher Debt Limit = Higher Debt
Even the Press Doesn't Believe Obama Debt Spin
