ObamaCare - Still Not Transparent

Check out this new video from the NRCC. Things have been pretty quiet regarding health care reform but we're guessing Obama will somehow claim a victory on it Wednesday night at the State of the Union.

Time to Listen

ObamaCare Keeps Falling

President Obama's approval rating on handling health care is at an all-time low, according to a new CBS News poll, something that is helping to drag down his overall approval rating.

Just 36 percent of Americans approve of Mr. Obama's handling of health care, according to the poll, conducted from Jan. 6 – 10. Fifty-four percent disapprove.

Barry, Barry - when will you give up on this government takeover of the health care system? The reason people are losing their health care is because they're losing their jobs! Lets focus on the economy and getting private industry to start booming again instead of government growth.

Obama Gives Himself a 'Good Solid B+'

Perhaps Obama is grading himself on a curve - which compared to his cabinet of tax evading, unqualified cronies - would MAYBE get him a B +

National Energy Tax passed House - 50%
Government Health Care passed House - 50%
Close Guantanamo - Incomplete
End the Iraq/Afghanistan wars - Incomplete

SHOCKING - He blames his low personal score on the fact that he inherited so many problems from the previous administration. When doe he have to stop blaming Bush and take the responsibility for his own failure in creating jobs and getting the economy moving??

Happy Jobs Summit Day

When times are tough - wants the best solution? Get together and talk about the problem, but don't announce any solutions. We wouldn't want that kind of sensitive material about how Obama plans to create jobs, to leak out before we truly need the jobs.

Today President Obama convenes plenty of politicians of his lockstep politicians as well as labor bosses and academics. After 10 months and the authorization of $787 billion in government spending, the economic policies of the White House and the Democratic Congress have failed. 15.7 million Americans are out of work, 3.2 million of them since the stimulus was first passed in February. Unemployment, at 10.2 percent, is higher than the President promised it would be if he did nothing. The Obama-Pelosi-Reid economic policies are hurting, not helping.

When will the President learn that we're sick and tired of his lofty rhetoric - it's time for him to develop real solutions. Don't just throw money at the problem with another stimulus, it clearly didn't work the first time.

Obama: 75% Support for Our Troops

Tonight President Obama layed out his strategy for the War in Afghanistan. After months of delay, he announced to no one's surprise that he would not be requesting the full 40,000 troop surge the Generals on the ground asked for. He thinks they can manage with 75% - 30,000. He is going to request that the UN supply the additional 10,000 so I guess we can let him be on that one.

The most troubling part is that he has once again set a completion date for himself. He wants the first troops to begin withdrawing by July 2011. Declaring a timetable for a withdrawal would merely send the Taliban underground until the Americans began to leave. It also sends the wrong message to our troops - that no matter how hard they work and successful they are, they may still have to pull out before the job is done.

According to the latest Gallop poll - 35% of Americans approve of the way President Obama is handling the war in Afghanistan. 55% disappove and had we been asked - we'd have checked this box.

Senator Roberts' - I remain concerned that artificial time lines for withdrawal will tie the hands and further endanger our men and women in uniform while emboldening the Taliban and other terrorists. I hope this will not be the case.

The Broken Promises Continue

President Obama acknowledged for the first time on Wednesday that his administration would miss a self-imposed deadline to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by mid-January, admitting the difficulties of following through on one of his first pledges as president.

On Guantanamo, Mr. Obama said that he now hoped to shut down the detention facility sometime next year, but he did not set a new deadline.

Perhaps he's beginning to understand that no American wants these detainees in 'their backyard' which doesn't exactly leave him with a lot of options. The latest reports now list Illinois has a possible location - perhaps he thinks if he puts them in his backyard it will make it all fair? As long as he doesn't move them to Leavenworth, KS

Stimulus II Doomed?

Remember when President Obama passed the $1 trillion stimulus plan - promising that this would keep unemployment below 8%?

Well now unemployment is at 10.2% AND following Obama's early Dec. jobs summit - there's word that he pay try to pass another stimulus/recovery package.

This news is a little startling when the recovery.gov website is reporting money spent and jobs saved in Congressional districts that don't exist.

Check out this video for more info:

Poll Watch: Obama's Approval Still Decreasing

According to yesterday's Rasmussen tracking poll - Fifty-three percent (53%) of voters disapproved of the President's performance. 46% of voters say they at least somewhat approve.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 45% now favor the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. Most (52%) remain opposed.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of likely voters say it is at least somewhat likely the next president of the United States will be a Republican. The number has been trending in this direction since Democrat Barack Obama took office in January and is up 14 points since then.

Happy Friday

If you're trying to get through te 1,990 pages of the new House health care bill - check out this reading guide the Republican Conference put together.

Some of our favorites:

Page 94 - Section 202(c) prohibits the sale of private individual health insurance policies, beginning in 2013, forcing individuals to purchase coverage through the federal government

Page 297 - Section 501 imposes a 2.5 percent tax on all individuals who do not purchase “bureaucrat-approved” health insurance - the tax would apply on individuals with incomes under $250,000, thus breaking a central promise of then-Senator Obama’s presidential campaign

Page 520 - Section 1161 cuts more than $150 billion from Medicare Advantage plans, potentially jeopardizing millions of seniors’ existing coverage (Remember Obama's promise not to make any cuts to Medicare??)

***Still waiting to hear from Team Goyle or Kelly on whether they're supporting this massive take-over of the health care system

The Change We Deserve

CBS' Mark Knoller tweeted yesterday that President Obama has tied President Bush for the number of rounds of golf played while in office: 24. Only troubling thing, President Bush took 2 years and 10 months while Obama has managed to find the time in just 10 months.

What happened to the current health care crisis in America, the H1N1 National Emergency, the less than 3 months he's given himself to close Gitmo and move its dangerous detainees to our backyards. What about his pledge to end the war - instead he's decided to simply leave our troops in harms way in Afghanistan, delaying a decision on the requested troop surge.

Perhaps he thinks since he's already won the Noble Peace Prize his work is finished. Any other ideas on a better way for Obama to spend his time? Playing with his kids, fundraising for ACORN, appointing CZARS, campaigning for Democrats in NJ and VA?

The House Ways and Means committee has compared the White House's projection of the number of jobs that would be created by the 2009 stimulus law (through the end of 2010) with the actual change in state payroll employment through September 2009. According to the data, 49 States and the District of Columbia have lost jobs since stimulus was enacted. While President Obama claimed the result of his stimulus bill would be the creation of 3.5 million jobs, the Nation has already lost a total of 2.7 million – a difference of 6.2 million jobs.

According to their chart - Kansas was projected to gain 33,000 jobs due to the stimulus but in reality 45,400 Kansans have lost their jobs since the so called economic stimulus was signed into law.

Since this stimulus is certainly not helping Kansans - we're proud of 5 of the 6 members of our delegation who opposed its passage. Bets on who the lone supporter was?

“On January 29, 2009 Rep. Dennis Moore (D-3) voted to pass the so-called economic stimulus package. He called the $785 billion dollar bill ‘necessary and vital’ claiming it would ‘create or save’ 19,180 jobs in the state of Kansas......Kansans deserve more than empty promises from Dennis Moore about unemployment in our Great State. They understand that creating a pro-growth platform does not rest on government spending. Our economy will only grow when businesses become stronger which will happen by lowering the tax burden and setting policies that encourage innovation and entrepreneurism.” - Amanda Adkins, Executive Director of the Kansas Republican Party

ACORN - the countdown

On October 1, 2009, the President signed a Continuing Resolution in which Congress included the following provision which prohibited ACORN from accessing federal funding:

Sec. 163. None of the funds made available by this joint resolution or any prior Act may be provided to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, or allied organizations.

However, this expires on October 31, 2009. Even if Congress passes its appropriations bills before November 1st, unless they include that language in all 12 appropriations bills, ACORN will be eligible for funding again. The only way to ensure that ACORN is barred from federal funds across the board and for more than a brief time is for the White House to suspend and bar ACORN from federal funds.

Any ideas on what President Obama will do in this situation - placed between his friends and the American people?

ObamaCare - Time for Bipartisan solutions?

The latest Rasmussen poll shows that 54% of Americans oppose the health care plan proposed by the President and Congressional Democrats.

This news comes on the same day that Senate Democrats on the Finance committee release their bill. WAIT - we know what you're thinking. The Senate Finance committee already passed their bill? Correct. They marked up a 200+ page summary of their legislation and the final 1,500+ page bill was just released today. Interesting...

Don't worry about having enough time to read this bill though - this won't actually be what they vote on either. Senate Majority Leader Reid and Sens. Max Baucus and Chris Dodd along with senior White House aides are merging the Finance and Health Committee legislation into one bill that will be considered on the floor of the Senate. Although the committee defeated Senator Roberts amendment to allow the bill to be posted online 72 hours before a vote so members and the American people can read it - I'm sure President Obama will live up to his promise of transparency through this debate.

But what we will do is, we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies. And so, that approach, I think is what is going to allow people to stay involved in this process."
- President Obama, Aug. 21, 2008, in Chester, Va

Obama to Seniors: Cha-Ching

Despite the fact the health care in Congress will cut upwards of $500 billion from Medicare, Obama isn't wasting anytime courting a key demographic in American politics.

Yesterday, the White House threw out the idea of giving each senior a big payout - $250 - so they can go buy, an iPod or something. New dentures? That little check would cost an addition $13 billion.

"These payments will provide aid to more than 50 million people in the coming year, relief that will not only make a difference for them, but for our economy as a whole, complementing the tax cuts we've provided working families and small businesses through the Recovery Act," Obama said in a statement.

We didn't think Obama would be paying off seniors in the first year of his presidency in order to quell their anger from the awful health care bill being shoved down America's throat. But here it is folks. This will do NOTHING to help the economy and most likely infuriate the seniors who are already angry about their health care being jeopardized by the health care overhaul. A real example of change we can believe in.

Obama: He's Here To Save Us

We are disappointed to report that a previously lauded institution took, quite possibly, it's final steps in to the realm in insignificance today. That's right, we too woke up this morning to hear the jaw dropping news that President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009. The Nobel committee cited the Presidents establishment of a "new climate in international politics" and gave "special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons" as the contributing factors to Obama's victory. We can't forget to mention the nomination deadline was just 11 days into Obama's presidency. Yeah, 11.

Now in all fairness the Noble committee has been doing their best to to make this award as trivial, inconsequential and irrelevant as possible over the last decade, awarding the Peace prize to the colossal dolts Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, and terrorist Yassir Arafat. This move, however, puts the Noble Peace Prize into the same category as those ever respected Day Time Emmy's.

The choice was even more surprising given that the President was only in office for 10 days prior to the February 1st nomination deadline. It is deplorable that an institution who has previously honored figures such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. bought into campaign rhetoric and bestowed their highest honor based on hope and potential. We hope that Mr. Obama uses his 1.4 million dollar prize money to pay down the massive about of debt he has saddled upon this nation.

Change that Does Nothing

Rarely do we see any late night or comedy shows go after liberal Democrats. But on the rare occasion is does happen, we want to share it! This skit has caused hand wringing among Dems online, arguing it's an unfair shot at the glorious Obama.

We think it couldn't be more honest. Take a look for yourself.

Recap: Democrats' Dreamfest '09

We won't spend a whole lot of time on the Democrats Dreamfest '09 that took place in Wichita yesterday. So here are some of the highlights:

• Chin Up: Governor Mark Parkinson attempts to reassure his party that it's not as bad as it looks for 2010...that they have a real shot at something...he wasn't really specific. Convenient that he's decided not to run but tells his party, best of luck guys!
  
  
• Primary?: Parkinson is backing Larry Gates who is under investigation by the AG's office for Medicaid fraud. Chris Steineger is still considering a run. Could we see a primary to see who will take on Brownback? Let's hope so!
  
  
• Stop the Partisanship!: Senator Tom Holland from Baldwin City said he's "strongly considering" a run against Lynn Jenkins in the 2nd because of her "partisanship". We can't wait until he tells Kansans he supports the Obama agenda. What was Obama's latest approval number in Kansas? Oh yeah, 39 percent. Good luck with that Tom.
  
  
• It's Bush's Fault: Not a surprising tactic that's STILL being used. Parkinson is confused as to why Democrats are "starting to get criticized for the financial failure brought on by the Bush administration" -- 10 months into Obama's presidency. He just doesn't get it. Regarding Browback, "Lt. Gov. Troy Findley, a former legislator from Lawrence, said, “What we don’t need to happen in Kansas is for an extremist brand of the out-of-touch politics of the Bush years moving into the governor’s office.” (LJ World)
  
  
• For Senate: Someone named Schollenberg to run for Brownback's seat...announcement video of him on a hotel bed. strange.
  

Oh and here are some pretty entertaining Tweets from the day:

yonahana: So excited to eat at Braum's for lunch. Anyone who wants to join is welcome #demofest09 - no we'll admit Braum's is delicious.

MikeNellis: Governor Parkinson is feeling his inner Barack Obama. #p2 #demofest09 - wow...so many things wrong with that sentence.

ColinCurtisKS: @RajGoyle is awesome! He got a standing ovation at #Demofest09! #p2 #raj10 - shocking..a Dem getting a standing ovation at a Dem conference. They sure love their ACLU lawyers.

immunis: We're the DemocratIC party, not the democrat party. Don't talk like the opposition! #demofest09 #fail - nah, Democrat party : )

Obama's (DIS) APPROVAL

According to a new SurveyUSA poll (conducted Sept 27-28) - 39% of Kansans approve of the job Barack Obama is doing as President. 57% of Kansans disapprove.

Most surprising to us in the poll: When you look at the President's approval by age group - the age range 18-34 disapproved of the President more than any other range. 30% approve/65% disapprove. Very shocking when you think back to the campaign and how our country's youth was the most energized by Obama's movement of CHANGE. Good to know that at least Kansas' youth understand what he's doing to our country.

Also in the poll - Senator Roberts job approval holds strong at 54%/37% disapprove. Looks like Kansans do support him in his opposition to the President's health care plan.

If Dems Controlled Kansas...

The Kansas Democrats will once again make their case to the people of Kansas in 2010. They'll scream, complain, unleash their bitterness and sit there scratching their heads after they lose. Kansans have lived under judicial fiat (Supreme Court mandating school funding), Barack Hussein Obama's bff (Queen Kathleen), and the host of characters to step forward in 2010 should be equally as entertaining...Raj Goyle, Dennis McKinney, Larry Gates, etc.

But here is a great reminder of what the Kansas Democrats really want to do to our state.

Enter the Sierra Club. This morning the Sierra Club will "announce litigation against a Kansas electric utility." It's taking place in Lawrence...anyone want to bet on Westar? Besides the costly cap and trade tax Nancy Pelosi and Co. are trying to pass at the federal level, we have our own little green activists vying for more litigation right here in Kansas. Oh, and the press conference being put on by the Sierra Club is in association with the Sierra Club’s National Coal Day of Action.

Greenies are also holding up a project in Lawrence, Kansas according to Transportation Secretary Deb Miller:

Kansas Department of Transportation Secretary Deb Miller said any long-range plan could include funding for the South Lawrence Trafficway, which is currently being challenged in federal court by environmentalists who say the project would harm the Baker Wetlands.

“Should this alignment survive that legal challenge, I don’t think there is any question it will be on the long list of projects that are highly sought after in a new transportation program. And then, whether or not the South Lawrence Trafficway is included in the bill will probably depend on just how big the program is,” she said.

And we can't forget Queen Kathleen's killing of the coal plant in Holcomb before she took her comfy position as HHS Secretary, where she's been showing reporters how to sneeze.

Democrats will try in 2010 to appear "independent" and "middle-of-the-road", but groups like the Sierra Club and radical environmentalists would have far too much control over energy policy if Dems somehow took the reins of power in Kansas.