The Radical in Chief told Al Sharpton that if the Republicans win and take back the House he’ll be “fighting them day and night.”
He wants to ram through some more of his radical socialist agenda.
The Blaze reported:
Actually, he’s been fighting the GOP, American taxpayers, big
business, tea partiers, taxpayers, small business owners, insurance
companies, fiscal conservatives, bankers, doctors, Israelis, etc. since
he was elected. So, at least we know what to expect.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The Adventures of Shylock Holmes: The New Class War
The Adventures of Shylock Holmes: The New Class War: "Mark Steyn is back, and on fire. He's doing a series of postings on the issues of the US election. From Tuesday's column: The new class wa..."
Nevada Secretary of State: ‘I’m not going to stand for any fraud…’
Sent to you by Jay via Google Reader:
via RedState by LaborUnionReport (Profile) on 10/27/10
Amid reports in the Washington Examiner on Tuesday that some voting machines in Clark County had Senator Harry Reid's name already checked and, further, that Clark County's voting machine technicians are represented by the SEIU, the Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller says everything is A-OK.
Secretary of State Ross Miller said today there have been no complaints filed with his office about suspicious voter activity despite email rumors and media accounts that at least some electronic voting machines are pre-programmed to support U.S. Senate candidate Harry Reid, D-NV.
Miller, holding the first of two media briefings on the allegations, urged anyone seeing a violation of election or voting law to file a formal complaint with his office so it can be investigated.
"I know that tensions are running high this election and that emotions are running very strong, but I want to set the record straight," he said. "This is the entire reason that we have formed the Election Integrity Task Force in 2008. I'm not going to stand for any fraud or intimidation at the polling place, but nor will I stand idly by and listen to rumors and innuendos undermine the integrity of our electoral process."
Additionally, there have been reports that Teacher's union representatives are offering Starbucks cards to get voters to vote for Reid. Secretary of State Miller also took exception with this.
Other claims in the run-up to Nevada's election include that voters are being compensated to cast their ballots. The task force has not received any complaint of that occurring and neither has the FBI, Miller said.
The basis of these claims is rumor and innuendo, he said.
"We want the public to come forward," Miller said. "If someone is compensating somebody by giving a Starbucks card in order to vote for Harry Reid, we want to know about it because that is a violation of state law and a violation of federal law."
And, of course, Ross Miller has all of the credentials of being one of Soros' Secretaries of State, as well as being backed by the Purple Hand of the SEIU itself.
Move along, citizen. There's nothing to see here. Move along.
[PSA: If you are offered a Starbucks card, Happy Meal, a pack of cigarettes, $10 or sexual favors to vote for Harry Reid, please go here to file a complaint with the Nevada Secretary of State's office.]
__________________
"I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes." Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776
For more news & views on today's labor unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe to RedState using Google Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites
Nevada Secretary of State: ‘I’m not going to stand for any fraud…’
Sent to you by Jay via Google Reader:
via RedState by LaborUnionReport (Profile) on 10/27/10
Amid reports in the Washington Examiner on Tuesday that some voting machines in Clark County had Senator Harry Reid's name already checked and, further, that Clark County's voting machine technicians are represented by the SEIU, the Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller says everything is A-OK.
Secretary of State Ross Miller said today there have been no complaints filed with his office about suspicious voter activity despite email rumors and media accounts that at least some electronic voting machines are pre-programmed to support U.S. Senate candidate Harry Reid, D-NV.
Miller, holding the first of two media briefings on the allegations, urged anyone seeing a violation of election or voting law to file a formal complaint with his office so it can be investigated.
"I know that tensions are running high this election and that emotions are running very strong, but I want to set the record straight," he said. "This is the entire reason that we have formed the Election Integrity Task Force in 2008. I'm not going to stand for any fraud or intimidation at the polling place, but nor will I stand idly by and listen to rumors and innuendos undermine the integrity of our electoral process."
Additionally, there have been reports that Teacher's union representatives are offering Starbucks cards to get voters to vote for Reid. Secretary of State Miller also took exception with this.
Other claims in the run-up to Nevada's election include that voters are being compensated to cast their ballots. The task force has not received any complaint of that occurring and neither has the FBI, Miller said.
The basis of these claims is rumor and innuendo, he said.
"We want the public to come forward," Miller said. "If someone is compensating somebody by giving a Starbucks card in order to vote for Harry Reid, we want to know about it because that is a violation of state law and a violation of federal law."
And, of course, Ross Miller has all of the credentials of being one of Soros' Secretaries of State, as well as being backed by the Purple Hand of the SEIU itself.
Move along, citizen. There's nothing to see here. Move along.
[PSA: If you are offered a Starbucks card, Happy Meal, a pack of cigarettes, $10 or sexual favors to vote for Harry Reid, please go here to file a complaint with the Nevada Secretary of State's office.]
__________________
"I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes." Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776
For more news & views on today's labor unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe to RedState using Google Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites
DOJ: False Allegations in Black Panther Case
Sent to you by Jay via Google Reader:
via FOXNews.com by foxnewsonline@foxnews.com on 10/27/10
Head of the Civil Rights Division disputes claims that the Obama administration won't prosecute minorities in civil rights cases, even after it reversed course on Black Panther chargesThings you can do from here:
- Subscribe to FOXNews.com using Google Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites
Dr. David Janda explains Rationing in Health Care Bill
Sent to you by Jay via Google Reader:
via New Zeal by Admin on 10/27/10
In the Oct. 13, 2010 video which is now going viral, Dr. David Janda quickly and succinctly explains in language all those on the left and right can understand, exactly what is wrong with the Stimulus Bill and the Healthcare Bill. It's only 6 minutes - watch it, get up to speed with the facts of the issue, and then tell your friends in time for voting on Nov 2.David says, "We're going to lose 46% of physicians, including me. I cannot walk into a room Jan. 1st 2013 and lie to the very people I've been helping for the last 30 years. I won't do it."
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe to New Zeal using Google Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites
(BN) Republicans Plan Budget Cuts as Early Act If They Take Power
Bloomberg News, sent from my iPhone.
Republicans Plan Budget Cuts as Early Act If They Take Power
Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. House Republicans plan to try to slash $100 billion from the federal budget as early as January if they wrest power from Democrats in this year's midterm elections, setting up possible early showdowns with President Barack Obama on taxes and spending.
A Republican House takeover would thrust new committee heads, such as Representative Dave Camp on the Ways and Means panel, into the spotlight within weeks -- or days -- of seizing their gavels in early January. They would confront quick political tests that could alienate independent voters and Tea Party activists alike, analysts said.
"The major issues are going to be fiscal, and fiscal issues are always contentious," said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California.
Carrying out spending cuts that Republicans have pledged to seek -- which would amount to 21 percent of the government's so-called discretionary money pot -- could prove politically difficult. Reducing funds for programs such as college loans for low-income students or medical research at the National Institutes of Health is harder than promising to do that on the campaign trail.
'Political Repercussions'
Republicans "will quickly find out that across-the-board cuts have political repercussions," Pitney said.
A lame-duck session of Congress convening two weeks after the Nov. 2 elections will try to fund the government next year and deal with Bush-era tax cuts expiring Dec. 31. Prospective Republican House control could be an obstacle to Democrats in finishing that work before adjourning. Camp and other Republicans would then need to grapple with those tasks as they take over, even as they push their promised budget cuts.
The backdrop is a federal deficit that the Congressional Budget Office said totaled $1.29 trillion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. At 8.9 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, it was the second-biggest shortfall since 1945.
The following reviews the battle lines likely to be drawn in top House committees under Republican rule, and looks at the potential panel leaders who would preside over the fights:
Appropriations
If Democrats fail to fund the government through September 2011, the end of the federal fiscal year, this committee would be the stage for that fight in the new Congress. And settling on the panel's chairman would be one of the initial tasks facing Republicans.
House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio, his party's speaker-in-waiting, called for the $100 billion budget cut on Sept. 23 as part of a governing agenda aimed at wooing voters. The cuts, which weren't specified, would come from the $477 billion Congress allocated in 2010 for non-defense domestic discretionary programs. Social Security and Medicare are among the programs excluded from the proposed 21 percent reductions in discretionary spending.
Obama's request for $73.4 billion for the Department of Education in the 2011 budget, including $23 billion for Pell Grants to help low-income students afford college, offers one example of the tough choices the Republicans would face. A 21 percent cut across-the-board would take about $15 billion from education. A 21 percent cut in Pell Grants would subtract almost $5 billion from the program.
HHS Budget
Obama asked Congress for $76.4 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services. Almost half that -- $32 billion - -is for NIH, which includes the National Cancer Institute and other research facilities. A 21 percent cut would slash NIH funding by more $6 billion.
The question of which Republican would lead the Appropriations panel is complicated by the six-year limit the party placed on how long a lawmaker could serve as its leading member on a committee.
Representative Jerry Lewis, a California Republican, reaches that limit at year's end. He has said he will seek a waiver to allow him to take the committee's helm.
Lewis, 76, initially balked when Boehner pushed House Republicans to embrace a moratorium on lawmaker-sponsored projects, known as earmarks. Lewis reversed his position last year, gaining favor with Boehner.
Representative Hal Rogers, a Kentucky Republican, would be the likely committee head if Lewis fails in his bid. Rogers, 72, is known for steering funding for road improvements and other projects to his state and district. The Lexington, Kentucky, Herald Leader once dubbed him the "Prince of Pork."
Financial Services
Representative Spencer Bachus of Alabama has two years left as the leading Republican on this panel, putting him in line for the chairmanship. Boehner's staff tried to oust him two years ago for his handling of negotiations over the Troubled Asset Relief Program -- they thought he agreed to a deal that they'd rejected. At this point, it looks like Bachus, 62, will avoid another challenge.
Still, the panel's Republican membership, currently dominated by small-government, free-market advocates, could be reshuffled. Some of the 29 Republican members are expected to move to Ways and Means, particularly if their party wins the majority. And as the majority, Republicans could fill at least 12 additional slots on the financial services panel. It would be a plum assignment for freshmen who might face a tough contest two years from now, since the committee has become a good place to raise campaign cash.
The panel would be the scene for any move to revamp mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Republicans want to limit the government's exposure to their loan portfolios.
While some Republicans talk of trying to repeal the president's financial-markets overhaul, the party may resist that, given the virtual certainty of an Obama veto.
Ways and Means
Camp, of Michigan, typically favors policy debates over political sniping. He has the closest thing to a chairmanship lock on any of the so-called "A" committees -- which include Appropriations and Energy and Commerce.
Should the lame-duck Congress end up deadlocked over extending the income tax cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush, Camp's panel would be at the center of resolving the impasse. Republicans want to extend the cuts across the board, contending that would aid a U.S. economy struggling to grow after the longest recession in seven decades. Democrats want to limit the extensions, continuing the lower rates for individual income up to $200,000 and up to $250,000 for couples filing jointly.
Camp, 57, has advocated making all the cuts permanent.
Budget
One of the few Republicans offering concrete proposals for cutting federal spending has been Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who would take the helm of the Budget Committee.
His "Roadmap for America's Future" would establish a voucher system for Medicare, scrap the current tax exemptions for employer-sponsored health benefits in favor of individual tax credits, and let workers under the age of 55 steer a portion of their Social Security taxes into private accounts.
The plan elevated Ryan, 40, from an up-and-comer to a full-fledged political star. It also became a punching bag for Democrats, and some Republicans distanced themselves from its proposals, concerned they would be viewed as too extreme by independent voters. How vigorously Ryan promotes his ideas in committee should provide early clues of how much sway the Tea Party push for significantly limited government has gained.
Energy and Commerce
Representative Joe Barton of Texas is term-limited as the top Republican on this panel, leaving three others likely to vie for the chairmanship: John Shimkus, 52, of Illinois, Cliff Stearns, 69, of Florida, and Fred Upton, 57, of Michigan, whose seniority on the committee gives him an edge.
The panel oversees the Department of Health and Human Services, which would give it a primary role in any bid to "repeal and replace" the health-care overhaul Obama got enacted this year. The committee could also keep a spotlight on the law -- and make changes to it -- through hearings on new rules the department will be writing to implement it.
Additionally, the panel has authority over the health-care industry, the energy sector, the telecommunications industry, and commercial products, including tobacco.
Upton, a journalism major at the University of Michigan, worked in the Office of Management and Budget under former President Ronald Reagan. He has taken some positions, such as supporting stem-cell research, that put him at odds with most of his Republican colleagues.
Oversight and Government Reform
Chairmanship of this panel would give Representative Darrell Issa of California subpoena power over the Obama administration in a Republican House, handing him a political tool he has said he would use.
Issa, 56, said he wants to work with Obama aides to probe the Minerals and Management Service and its cozy relationship with the industries it oversees.
Bipartisan comity might be tough to muster, though, if Issa also demands testimony from Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner about government bailouts of Wall Street and the auto industry, or pushes to subpoena White House officials about job offers made to Democrats who challenged incumbent senators in primaries.
Judiciary
Any overhaul of immigration laws must go through this panel, which Representative Lamar Smith of Texas would preside over. Smith, whose first House race in 1986 was run by Republican political strategist Karl Rove, wants to shelve any discussion on such matters as a boost in visas for legal immigrant workers and a pathway to legal permanent residency for some of the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. to focus solely on securing the border with Mexico.
"I'm still of the mind that we have to secure the border first," said Smith, 62.
Transportation and Infrastructure
Obama has made infrastructure spending a priority, proposing a public-private fund to invest in roads, railways and an updated air-traffic control system.
Representative John Mica of Florida would likely head this committee for the Republicans. Mica, 67, supports focusing high-speed rail construction in the Northeast and opposes lines in Ohio and California that Obama has proposed. Mica also wants to speed the approval process for federal road-building projects.
Armed Services
Congress continues to grapple with whether to overturn the U.S. military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which allows gay and lesbian soldiers to serve on condition they don't reveal their sexual orientation. Under a Republican majority, Representative Howard P. "Buck" McKeon of California would oversee this panel's debate on the issue.
McKeon, 72, has opposed previous efforts to kill the policy, most recently saying no change should be made until the Pentagon issues a report in December on attitudes within the ranks on such a move.
Foreign Affairs
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Cuban-born Floridian who in 1982 became the first Hispanic woman elected to Congress, would head this committee. The issues facing it include whether to impose future sanctions on Iran.
Ros-Lehtinen, 58, is a staunch supporter of Israel. In an Oct. 20 speech, she said "extremists target Israeli citizens and seek Israel's destruction. The UN isolates and demonizes the Jewish state."
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net
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(BN) Fed Easing to Signify End of Bull Market, Gross Says (Update2)
Bloomberg News, sent from my iPhone.
Fed Easing to Signify End of Bull Market, Gross Says
Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Bill Gross, manager of the world's largest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., said a renewal of asset purchases by the Federal Reserve will likely signify the end of the 30-year bull market in bonds.
"Check writing in the trillions is not a bondholder's friend," Gross wrote in his monthly investment outlook posted on Newport Beach, California-based Pimco's website today. "It is in fact inflationary, and, if truth be told, somewhat of a Ponzi scheme. It raises bond prices to create the illusion of high annual returns, but ultimately it reaches a dead end where those prices can no longer go up."
The Fed, led by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, will announce another round of large-scale asset purchases when policy makers meet next week after deploying $1.7 trillion to pull the economy out of the financial crisis, according to a survey of the 18 primary dealers that trade debt with the central bank. Fed officials, who already cut interest rates almost to zero, are discussing more purchases of Treasuries to flood markets with cheap money as well as strategies for raising inflation expectations to prevent stagnating prices from undermining the recovery.
Gross, a founder and co-chief investment officer of Pimco, said in March that bonds may have seen their best days while making an argument for investors to own fewer. He reduced holdings of government-related debt in the Total Return Fund for the third straight month in September, after the securities accounted for 63 percent of assets in June, the highest since it held an equal amount in October 2009.
Less Government Debt
The $252 billion Total Return Fund's investment in government debt was cut to 33 percent of assets in September, from 36 percent the previous month, according to the company's website. Pimco doesn't comment directly on monthly changes in portfolio holdings.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped from a 2010 high of 4.01 percent in April to a low of 2.33 percent on Oct. 8, according to Bloomberg data, as investors purchased Treasuries in anticipation of further asset purchases by the central bank. The record of 2.04 percent was set in December 2008.
"Having arrived at its destination, the market then offers near zero percent returns and a picking of the creditor's pocket via inflation and negative real interest rates," Gross wrote. "It will likely signify the end of a great 30-year bull market in bonds and the necessity for bond managers and, yes, equity managers to adjust to a new environment," Gross wrote.
Deflation Threat
Treasuries have returned 8.3 percent this year after losing 3.7 percent in 2009, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes.
The Fed is driven to further easing due to low inflation and a threat of deflation, where falling asset prices, including home values, result in consumers and businesses that are less willing to spend and invest. Inflation, a rise in the prices of goods and services, would enable more value, production and consumer activity.
"This is not a Bernanke scheme, because this is his only alternative and he shares no responsibility for its origin," Gross wrote. "I call it a Sammy scheme, in honor of Uncle Sam and the politicians -- as well as citizens -- who have brought us to this critical moment in time. You and I, and the politicians that we elect every two years, deserve all the blame."
Volcker Fed
Policy makers have historically focused on containing inflation rather than preventing deflation. Core consumer prices, which exclude food and fuel, were little changed in September, capping a 0.8 percent increase in the past 12 months, the smallest year-over-year gain since 1961.
Inflation climbed to a 14.8 percent annual rate in March 1980, driving 10-year yields to 13.65 percent that year and to an all-time high of 15.8 percent the following year. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker broke the back of inflation by raising rates as high as 20 percent, even as the economy slipped into the longest post-World War II recession to win back confidence among investors.
By the time Volcker stepped down from the Fed in 1987, inflation slowed to 4.3 percent and benchmark borrowing costs were 6.75 percent.
'Liquidity Trap'
"We are, as even some Fed Governors now publically admit, in a 'liquidity trap,' where interest rates or trillions in QEII asset purchases may not stimulate borrowing or lending because consumer demand is just not there," Gross wrote. "Escaping from a liquidity trap may be impossible, much like light trapped in a black hole."
Under what Pimco calls the "new normal," investors should expect lower-than-average historical returns with heightened regulation, lower consumption, slower growth and a shrinking global role for the U.S. economy.
"If QEII cannot reflate capital markets, if it can't produce 2 percent inflation and an assumed reduction of unemployment rates back towards historical levels, then it will be a long, painful slog back to prosperity," Gross wrote.
As part of adjusting to a new normal, Pimco began offering equity funds in April, and had inflows of about $1 billion, Pimco said in September. The firm moved into stocks to allow customers to diversify their holdings as the global economy changes and areas such as emerging markets outperform developed regions.
Pimco added to its mortgage holdings in September to 28 percent of assets, from 21 percent the prior month. Pimco also expanded its emerging-market debt to 12 percent last month, the highest since at least September 2006. Non-U.S. developed debt was unchanged at 6 percent.
The Total Return Fund, also the world's biggest mutual fund, handed investors a gain of about 11.78 percent in the past year, beating about 76 percent of its peers, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Pimco, a unit of Munich-based insurer Allianz SE, managed $1.236 trillion of assets as of September.
To contact the reporter on this story: Susanne Walker in New York at swalker33@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net
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Health Law Unpopular in Key House Districts
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303443904575578702952382546.html?mod=rss_whats_news_us&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wsj%2Fxml%2Frss%2F3_7011+(WSJ.com%3A+What's+News+US)&utm_content=Google+Reader
The figures are one of the sharpest signals yet that Democrats are unlikely to translate their signature legislative achievement into success inside the voting booth. The health bill passed in March is particularly unpopular in the districts that matter most in the Republicans' effort to retake the House.
Some of the most embattled House Democrats are the five moderates who voted "yes" on the final health-care bill after voting "no" on the House version in November 2009.
Among
a small batch of Democrats who put out campaign advertisements to
support the law since Labor Day, at least one appears to be toning down
that support. Democratic North Dakota Rep. Earl Pomeroy in recent weeks
had described his vote for the health bill as a way of protecting
Medicare and rural hospitals.
One of his ads had blasted his opponent, Republican Rick Berg, for "listening to big insurance, not to us." On Mr. Berg's campaign site, he says the "Obama-Pomeroy nationalized healthcare bill does nothing to lower our costs."
With the election days away, Mr. Pomeroy has dropped that ad and is striking a more muted tone. "I know I've disappointed you with a vote here or there," Mr. Pomeroy tells the camera. "But you can always count on the fact that I do what I do for the right reason, for the people of North Dakota."
![[Congpro]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uyId8myyJwWracq_wO-hNoauogb0Ut0C6Or_bIupQ-KqgQ3OxvgYwM5efafjOP74GazgQBk-YBGTSSqKlqMpOxKe2_LXtAfkzsB-uDauLMyUWKgV1ygi1iOo48NpA0aXSb7K35iyHzx9ivnUkb3IH09g=s0-d)
See which House, Senate and governors' races are considered closest.
A
spokesman for the congressman wouldn't say whether he was backing away
from his health vote. "The ad speaks for itself," said the spokesman,
Brenden Timpe.
According to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, 52% of respondents said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who wanted to give the health law a chance to work and then make changes to it as needed, while 45% said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who wanted to repeal the law entirely and start over.
But in the 92 House districts considered most competitive, that support flipped, with 42% voting for the candidate who wanted to keep the law and 55% voting for the candidate who wanted it repealed.
Those districts on the whole were friendlier to Republicans to begin with, and they have seen a torrent of advertisements against the law, said Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted the Journal poll.
Mr.
McInturff's own research suggests that the intensity of feelings toward
the law favors Republicans. Among key voting groups—independents,
seniors, undecided voters and those in the competitive House
races—respondents calling the law "very bad" outweighed those calling
it "very good" by margins of 24 to 34 percentage points.
For Republicans, "this is a motivating factor for them to get out there and vote," said Peter Hart, the Democratic pollster who conducted the Journal poll with Mr. McInturff. The poll of 1,000 registered voters was taken Oct. 14-18.
A White House spokesman, Nick Papas, said the numbers weren't surprising because he said special-interest groups that oppose the law have spent more than $100 million on ads that he described as misinformation.
Republicans appear likely to win back control of the House, and they have pledged that one of their first moves will be voting to repeal the law designed to extend health-care insurance to 32 million additional people in the U.S. The Senate, should it remain in Democrats' control, and ultimately the White House would almost surely block any such move, but Republicans could attempt to choke off funding to implement the law.
On the state level, victories by Republican governors could lead more states to turn away funding to enact the law, as Minnesota's Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty has done.
Write to Janet Adamy at janet.adamy@wsj.com
Health Law Unpopular in Key House Districts
more in Campaign 2010 »
By JANET ADAMY
A majority of likely voters in the most competitive House districts support repealing the Democrats' health overhaul, according to recent polling data.The figures are one of the sharpest signals yet that Democrats are unlikely to translate their signature legislative achievement into success inside the voting booth. The health bill passed in March is particularly unpopular in the districts that matter most in the Republicans' effort to retake the House.
Some of the most embattled House Democrats are the five moderates who voted "yes" on the final health-care bill after voting "no" on the House version in November 2009.
Associated Press
Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D., N.D.), right, and his Republican opponent, Rick Berg, before a debate in Bismarck.
One of his ads had blasted his opponent, Republican Rick Berg, for "listening to big insurance, not to us." On Mr. Berg's campaign site, he says the "Obama-Pomeroy nationalized healthcare bill does nothing to lower our costs."
With the election days away, Mr. Pomeroy has dropped that ad and is striking a more muted tone. "I know I've disappointed you with a vote here or there," Mr. Pomeroy tells the camera. "But you can always count on the fact that I do what I do for the right reason, for the people of North Dakota."
Attack Ads
Get a look at some of the ads campaigns are running to embarrass their rivals -- and vote for the most effective.Races in 2010
According to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, 52% of respondents said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who wanted to give the health law a chance to work and then make changes to it as needed, while 45% said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who wanted to repeal the law entirely and start over.
But in the 92 House districts considered most competitive, that support flipped, with 42% voting for the candidate who wanted to keep the law and 55% voting for the candidate who wanted it repealed.
Those districts on the whole were friendlier to Republicans to begin with, and they have seen a torrent of advertisements against the law, said Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted the Journal poll.
Live Updates on Election Night
For Republicans, "this is a motivating factor for them to get out there and vote," said Peter Hart, the Democratic pollster who conducted the Journal poll with Mr. McInturff. The poll of 1,000 registered voters was taken Oct. 14-18.
A White House spokesman, Nick Papas, said the numbers weren't surprising because he said special-interest groups that oppose the law have spent more than $100 million on ads that he described as misinformation.
Republicans appear likely to win back control of the House, and they have pledged that one of their first moves will be voting to repeal the law designed to extend health-care insurance to 32 million additional people in the U.S. The Senate, should it remain in Democrats' control, and ultimately the White House would almost surely block any such move, but Republicans could attempt to choke off funding to implement the law.
On the state level, victories by Republican governors could lead more states to turn away funding to enact the law, as Minnesota's Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty has done.
Write to Janet Adamy at janet.adamy@wsj.com
Examiner Editorial: Got a doctor's prescription for that Advil?
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/Got-a-doctor_s-prescription-for-that-Advil_-1353869-105899143.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dcexaminer%2FOpinion+(Examiner+Editorials)feed&utm_content=Google+Readerfeed&utm_term=feedGoogle+Reader
Fwd: News Alert: Parts of Obama Coalition Drift Toward G.O.P., Poll Finds
>
> Parts of Obama Coalition Drift Toward G.O.P., Poll Finds
>
> Critical parts of the coalition that delivered President
> Obama to the White House in 2008 and gave Democrats control
> of Congress in 2006 are switching their allegiance to the
> Republicans in the final phase of the midterm Congressional
> elections, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News
> poll.
>
> Republicans have wiped out the advantage held by Democrats in
> recent election cycles among women, Catholics, less affluent
> Americans and independents; all of those groups broke for Mr.
> Obama in 2008 and for congressional Democrats when they
> grabbed both chambers from the Republicans four years ago,
> according to exit polls.
>
> Read More:
> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/us/politics/28poll.html?emc=na
>
>
>
> Parts of Obama Coalition Drift Toward G.O.P., Poll Finds
>
> Critical parts of the coalition that delivered President
> Obama to the White House in 2008 and gave Democrats control
> of Congress in 2006 are switching their allegiance to the
> Republicans in the final phase of the midterm Congressional
> elections, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News
> poll.
>
> Republicans have wiped out the advantage held by Democrats in
> recent election cycles among women, Catholics, less affluent
> Americans and independents; all of those groups broke for Mr.
> Obama in 2008 and for congressional Democrats when they
> grabbed both chambers from the Republicans four years ago,
> according to exit polls.
>
> Read More:
> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/us/politics/28poll.html?emc=na
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Juan Williams Tells Shep Smith Nancy Pelosi May Retire If GOP Takes House
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/juan-williams-tells-shep-smith-nancy-pelosi-may-retire-if-gop-takes-house/
Juan Williams did his regular ‘Wednesdays With Juan’ segment on Shep Smith’s Studio B
today. It was Williams first appearance on Shep’s show since his
departure from NPR one week ago today. Interestingly, while Shep has
gone on record both on his show and on yesterday’s View in
support of Juan but nary a word was spoke today about NPR or Juan’s
firing so perhaps this marks the beginning of the end of wall-to-wall
Juan.
What they did talk about was Nancy Pelosi. What will Pelosi do if the GOP takes Congress. Williams thinks she may decide not to stick around even if she wins her seat in California (which she is likely to do). “Does she really want to [be minority leader] after being Speaker of the House, she doesn’t really have any ambition to be President, so what would she be hanging around for? She’s extremely wealthy. She doesn’t need it.”
Said Shep: “One thing that’s easy to forget is here is…the President has been historically successful at getting his agenda through and Nancy Pelosi is the most powerful woman in the history of American politics has been historically helpful to him in that process.”
“She drove it!” Says Juan. However, if the Dems retain the House there are “a dozen Democrats” on the record who want Pelosi out and that someone like Steny Hoyer may be in.
Meanwhile, what kind Speaker would John Boehner (aka, smoking companion of Mrs. Juan Williams) be? Especially where the Tea Party people are concerned. Boehner, Williams points out, does not have the hardline reputation that Pelosi does. One week to go! Watch below.
Juan Williams Tells Shep Smith Nancy Pelosi May Retire If GOP Takes House
» 5 comments
by Glynnis MacNicol | 6:01 pm, October 27th, 2010
video
Juan Williams did his regular ‘Wednesdays With Juan’ segment on Shep Smith’s Studio B
today. It was Williams first appearance on Shep’s show since his
departure from NPR one week ago today. Interestingly, while Shep has
gone on record both on his show and on yesterday’s View in
support of Juan but nary a word was spoke today about NPR or Juan’s
firing so perhaps this marks the beginning of the end of wall-to-wall
Juan. What they did talk about was Nancy Pelosi. What will Pelosi do if the GOP takes Congress. Williams thinks she may decide not to stick around even if she wins her seat in California (which she is likely to do). “Does she really want to [be minority leader] after being Speaker of the House, she doesn’t really have any ambition to be President, so what would she be hanging around for? She’s extremely wealthy. She doesn’t need it.”
Said Shep: “One thing that’s easy to forget is here is…the President has been historically successful at getting his agenda through and Nancy Pelosi is the most powerful woman in the history of American politics has been historically helpful to him in that process.”
“She drove it!” Says Juan. However, if the Dems retain the House there are “a dozen Democrats” on the record who want Pelosi out and that someone like Steny Hoyer may be in.
Meanwhile, what kind Speaker would John Boehner (aka, smoking companion of Mrs. Juan Williams) be? Especially where the Tea Party people are concerned. Boehner, Williams points out, does not have the hardline reputation that Pelosi does. One week to go! Watch below.
Chris Matthews: When Will Tea Partiers Start Wearing Uniforms Like The ‘Hoodlums In The 30’s’
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/chris-matthews-when-will-tea-partiers-start-wearing-uniforms-like-hoodlums-from-the-30s/
Apparently Chris Matthews
is getting warmed up for next Tuesday’s live election coverage.
Tonight, while reflecting on the head-stomping incident at the Rand Paul
event, Matthews said that “this is the kind of stuff we saw from
hoodlums in the thirties in another country I will not mention.” Three
guesses history buffs!
The head-stomping people also remind Matthews of Joe Miller’s private security team up in Alaska who handcuffed the reporter to the chair. What is the deal with these people who are “supposed to be good old American Tea Partiers?” Morever: “When are these people going to start wearing uniforms…I mean it isn’t far from what we saw in the thirties where political parties started showing up in uniforms.”
Actually, I think we are still pretty far from the Tea Party (or any other political group in this country) doing anything to justify a Nazi comparison, how about, people in large crowds frequently act like idiots. Or as Chris Cillizza calmly notes, “at the end of campaigns passions get very inflamed and sometimes people act inappropriately.” Matthews remains unconvinced. Watch below.
Chris Matthews: When Will Tea Partiers Start Wearing Uniforms Like The ‘Hoodlums In The 30’s’
» 2 comments
by Glynnis MacNicol | 6:39 pm, October 27th, 2010
video
Apparently Chris Matthews
is getting warmed up for next Tuesday’s live election coverage.
Tonight, while reflecting on the head-stomping incident at the Rand Paul
event, Matthews said that “this is the kind of stuff we saw from
hoodlums in the thirties in another country I will not mention.” Three
guesses history buffs!The head-stomping people also remind Matthews of Joe Miller’s private security team up in Alaska who handcuffed the reporter to the chair. What is the deal with these people who are “supposed to be good old American Tea Partiers?” Morever: “When are these people going to start wearing uniforms…I mean it isn’t far from what we saw in the thirties where political parties started showing up in uniforms.”
Actually, I think we are still pretty far from the Tea Party (or any other political group in this country) doing anything to justify a Nazi comparison, how about, people in large crowds frequently act like idiots. Or as Chris Cillizza calmly notes, “at the end of campaigns passions get very inflamed and sometimes people act inappropriately.” Matthews remains unconvinced. Watch below.
Get ready for a smaller paycheck
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/get-ready-for-a-smaller-paycheck-105865093.html?utm_source=feedburner+BeltwayConfidential&utm_medium=feed+Beltway+Confidential&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BeltwayConfidential+(Beltway+Confidential)feed&utm_content=Google+Readerfeed&utm_term=Google+Readerfeed
No Center Shift… Barack Says If GOP Wins He’ll Be “Fighting Them Day & Night” (Audio)
http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/10/no-center-shift-barack-says-if-gop-wins-hell-be-fighting-them-day-night-audio/
Posted by Jim Hoft on Wednesday, October 27, 2010, 2:28 PM
Classy… Sharron Angle Sends Behar Flowers- Thanks Her For the Help …Update: Angle Raises $137,000
http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/10/lovely-sharron-angle-sends-behar-flowers-thanks-her-for-the-help/
Posted by Jim Hoft on Wednesday, October 27, 2010, 11:43 AM
Beautiful. Conservative Sharron Angle responded today to the ugly attacks by Joy Behar.
She sent her flowers… And thanked her for her “help.”
Now, that was classy.
UPDATE: Sharron Angle raised $137,000 yesterday.
She sent her flowers… And thanked her for her “help.”
Now, that was classy.
UPDATE: Sharron Angle raised $137,000 yesterday.
New Video Shows Paid MoveOn.org Activist & Felon Harassing Rand Paul
http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/10/new-video-shows-paid-moveon-org-activist-felon-harassing-rand-paul/
Posted by Jim Hoft on Wednesday, October 27, 2010, 11:33 AM
Just so you know…
Disguised professional MoveOn.org activist and felon Lauren Valle rushed Rand Paul’s vehicle and harassed him before she was grounded and stomped.
Video shows Lauren Valle lunging at and harassing Rand Paul:
This doesn’t mean she should have had her head stomped but it does show that professional far left activist Valle is no innocent saint.
Disguised professional MoveOn.org activist and felon Lauren Valle rushed Rand Paul’s vehicle and harassed him before she was grounded and stomped.
Video shows Lauren Valle lunging at and harassing Rand Paul:
This doesn’t mean she should have had her head stomped but it does show that professional far left activist Valle is no innocent saint.
NPR's Vivian Schiller Part of Liberal Bid to Nationalize Media
http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2010/10/nprs-vivian-sch.html
This fits in smoothly not only with the liberal ideology so rigidly espoused on NPR, but with its business model. Air America proved that left-wing bilge cannot compete in the free market, because most Americans are too healthy to have a use for it when they have alternatives. Therefore, it must be funded coercively.
To anyone who doesn't want to get with the program, let Juan Williams be an example of where even the slightest deviation from leftist orthodoxy gets you.
October 27, 2010
NPR's Vivian Schiller Part of Liberal Bid to Nationalize Media
Posted by Van Helsing at October 27, 2010 11:08 AM
Vivian Schiller, the obnoxious Stalinist CEO of taxpayer-funded NPR who not only fired Juan Williams but felt the need to denounce him as psychiatrically unfit for committing a trivial thought crime, is among the statist apparatchiks pushing for a federal takeover of the news media:Schiller, a former New York Times executive, is one of a few dozen power players working with the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and a leftist group called Free Press to "reinvent journalism." That's how the FTC describes it. The FCC calls what they are doing the "Future of Journalism." Free Press, a think tank funded by leftist billionaire George Soros, among others, calls it "the new public media."
It's all the same thing, a plan to take over local news coverage from for-profit television, radio and print media, which Schiller and her friends claim is in danger of extinction. These "friends" get together regularly with the heads of the FCC and FTC to brainstorm the details in government and congressional meetings. These meetings include the leaders of all the country's public broadcasting outlets, including PBS, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and American Public Media.
They are beefing up their staffs in local news markets with herds of public news reporters to "take over" coverage as commercial media fails. Nationwide, this will cost $40 billion to $60 billion over a decade, they believe. Their plans, according to the FCC's Future of Media report, are to raise this money by taxing for-profit news organizations — the ones whose reporting Schiller is supposedly trying to "save." They want to charge "spectrum fees" of five percent of broadcast station revenues for use of the public spectrum and airwaves, which the government controls. They figure that could bring in $1.8 billion a year. A one percent tax on all electronic devices like cell phones, televisions and laptops could bring in billions more. So would a monthly fee on internet subscriptions.
While conservatives were busy arguing that NPR should be defunded in the wake of the Williams debacle, Schiller was putting the finishing touches on the national infrastructure NPR has launched to deliver this new government news product to cities across the nation. A decade ago, defunding NPR would have sufficed. To stop Schiller now, Republicans would have to defund PBS and CPB as well to have any hope of torpedoing her plans to build a nationwide news delivery system in the style of the BBC, but on steroids. Schiller imagines a national public print, television and radio news leviathan that would compete with the top five news companies in the news industry.As with the "government option" in healthcare, competing with the private sector while strangling it with regulations and leaching it dry with taxes is only a step toward the ultimate objective of all liberal initiatives: Stalin-style totalitarian collectivism.
This fits in smoothly not only with the liberal ideology so rigidly espoused on NPR, but with its business model. Air America proved that left-wing bilge cannot compete in the free market, because most Americans are too healthy to have a use for it when they have alternatives. Therefore, it must be funded coercively.
To anyone who doesn't want to get with the program, let Juan Williams be an example of where even the slightest deviation from leftist orthodoxy gets you.
Can you imagine NPR on every channel? Vivian Schiller can.
On a tip from J. Hat tip: Gateway Pundit.
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