A warning to the Democrat Party from the Washington Post (hardly a conservative rag) to listen to the American public and embrace centrist viewpoints.

“Keep the Big Tent big”

“The announcement by Alabama Rep. Parker Griffith that he is switching to the Republican Party is just the latest warning sign that the Democratic Party — my lifelong political home — has a critical decision to make: Either we plot a more moderate, centrist course or risk electoral disaster not just in the upcoming midterms but in many elections to come.
Rep. Griffith’s decision makes him the fifth centrist Democrat to either switch parties or announce plans to retire rather than stand for reelection in 2010. These announcements are a sharp reversal from the progress the Democratic Party made starting in 2006 and continuing in 2008, when it reestablished itself as the nation’s majority party for the first time in more than a decade. That success happened for one major reason: Democrats made inroads in geographies and constituencies that had trended Republican since the 1960s. In these two elections, a majority of independents and a sizable number of moderate Republicans joined the traditional Democratic base to sweep Democrats to commanding majorities in Congress and to bring Barack Obama to the White House.
These independents and Republicans supported Democrats based on a message indicating that the party would be a true Big Tent — that we would welcome a diversity of views even on tough issues such as abortion, gun rights and the role of government in the economy.
This call was answered not just by voters but by a surge of smart, talented candidates who came forward to run and win under the Democratic banner in districts dominated by Republicans for a generation. These centrists swelled the party’s ranks in Congress and contributed to Obama’s victories in states such as Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado and other Republican bastions.
But now they face a grim political fate. On the one hand, centrist Democrats are being vilified by left-wing bloggers, pundits and partisan news outlets for not being sufficiently liberal, “true” Democrats. On the other, Republicans are pounding them for their association with a party that seems to be advancing an agenda far to the left of most voters.

The political dangers of this situation could not be clearer.
Witness the losses in New Jersey and Virginia in this year’s off-year elections. In those gubernatorial contests, the margin of victory was provided to Republicans by independents — many of whom had voted for Obama. Just one year later, they had crossed back to the Republicans by 2-to-1 margins.
Witness the drumbeat of ominous poll results. Obama’s approval rating has fallen below 49 percent overall and is even lower — 41 percent — among independents. On the question of which party is best suited to manage the economy, there has been a 30-point swing toward Republicans since November 2008, according to Ipsos. Gallup’s generic congressional ballot shows Republicans leading Democrats. There is not a hint of silver lining in these numbers. They are the quantitative expression of the swing bloc of American politics slipping away.”

Read more:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/23/AR2009122302439_pf.html

From One News Now, December 23, 2009.

“Who benefits from Senate healthcare? ACORN!”

“A legal scholar says the Senate healthcare bill is not only stuffed full of racial quotas and preferences, but it also gives the disgraced liberal activist group ACORN opportunities to receive funding from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

 
Harry Reid’s (D-Nevada) “manager’s amendment” in the Senate healthcare bill requires that six federal agencies each establish an “Office of Minority Health.” Under that requirement, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is supposed to award grants and contracts to organizations that are “indigenous human resource providers in communities of color” and engage in “community outreach activities” — the type of work ACORN says it has been doing for years.
 
Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, says scandal-plagued ACORN — the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now — is exactly the kind of organization that will be applying for and receiving these federal funds.
 
“It illustrates this wrong assumption that’s all throughout this huge bill, and that is there are all these racial preferences and racial quotas everywhere in it,” he explains.  “There’s this whole assumption by the left that the disparities in healthcare have to do with the racial background of doctors — something that is completely untrue — and it’s these kinds of things that in fact may worsen healthcare across the country.”"

Read more:

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=826068

Larry Sinclair is running for Congress in Florida congressional district 24 as an independent. Larry Sinclair, despite the multitude of lies told about him, has done everything he has told me he was going to do, including writing and publishing a book about his drug and sex encounter with Barack Obama in 1999. I spoke at length with Larry several days ago about the disgusting behaviour of congressmen, especially their out of control spending of taxpayer money. Ever since I began following Larry Sinclair and his allegations early in 2008, it was apparent that Larry was not in this for the money. In fact, I have proof.  If I did not believe that Larry Sinclair is sincere about his contract below, I would not publish it.

Larry Sinclair is going to need contributions to have any chance of success. He is also in need of volunteers in Florida. I will be posting more information about this soon.

Larry Sinclair and I are on the same page in regard to frugality and not wasting taxpayer money. I believe that Larry means every word below.

From Larry Sinclair for Congress:

Larry’s Contract with Florida’s 24.

Representative Parker Griffith of Alabama announces his switch from the Democrat to Republican party.

Parker Griffith did not just vote against the Health care bill and other harmful legislation, he sent a strong signal that the Democrat party is not good for this country.

From CBS News blog, December 22, 2009.

“Parker Griffith, Democratic Representative, Switches Parties to GOP”

“Rep. Parker Griffith, a freshman Democrat from Alabama, announced Tuesday that he is switching parties to become a Republican.

“I believe our nation is at a crossroads and I can no longer align myself with a party that continues to pursue legislation that is bad for our country, hurts our economy, and drives us further and further into debt,” Griffith, 67, said at a press conference at his home, according to the Associated Press.

Some aren’t surprised by Griffith’s switch. He has voted against all major Democratic initiatives this year, including the stimulus, cap and trade and health care bills.

He’s also spoken out against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying that he would not vote for her to be speaker again.”

“A radiation oncologist, Griffith cited the Democrats’ health care plans as a reason for his switch. He was one of 39 Democrats to vote against the bill in the House last month.

“I want to make it perfectly clear that this bill is bad for our doctors,” he said at the press conference, according to the AP. “It’s bad for our patients. It’s bad for the young men and women who are considering going into the health care field.”

“The success of Republicans in the off-year elections last month also appears to be a reason for his decision to switch parties. Griffith told Politico then that he wanted to be called an independent Blue Dog, not a Democrat. “I should be nervous,” he added.”

“When a Member of Congress decides to leave a 258 seat majority to join a deep minority, it is a sure sign that the majority party has become completely disconnected from seniors, young workers, and families in America,” Cantor said in a statement. “We welcome Parker Griffith to the Republican Conference, and will continue to stand and fight against the damaging agenda of this Administration working in tandem with the Pelosi/Reid run Congress.”

“Parker Griffith is a dedicated public servant who has consistently put the best interests of his constituents first, and it is in that spirit that Republicans welcome him,” Boehner added. “With today’s decision, Congressman Griffith has added his voice to the growing chorus of Americans who have had it with Democrats’ wrong-headed policies and lack of leadership.”"

Read more:

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/12/22/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6009974.shtml

Just in from Stubborn_Facts at Grassroots in Nebraska, December 22, 2009.

Grassroots in Nebraska
 
Stubborn_Fact-
sStubborn_Facts has invited you to the event ‘STOP the Health Care Bill Before Christmas! Rally’ on Grassroots in Nebraska!
 REMINDER!! RALLY TONIGHT AT 6PM + DON’T FORGET TO BOMBARD BEN ALL WEEK!
An interactive parking garage map of downtown has been added to the site!

 Time: December 22, 2009 from 6pm to 7:30pm
Location: Senator Ben Nelson’s Office
Organized By: Stubborn_Facts
Event Description:
NOTE ADDED 12/20 @7:00AM RALLY IS STILL ON!

For much more detail, visit THIS POST on the Grassroots in Nebraska website.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is pushing for a vote on health care before Christmas.

**So YES, it is rather NUTS to try to do a rally on 12/22 in <32 degree weather…in the evening.**

BUT…if there is ANY chance we can impact this bill, it really comes down to US in Nebraska -

Senator Ben Nelson, by all accounts is the KEY vote on this bill and has voiced his unwillingness to vote for it in its present form, including federal funding for abortion.

Sen. David Vitter (LA) an executive member of the Senate Republican Steering Committee, advised on a 12/17 conference call with grassroots organizers from several states that some large, visible rally in Nebraska with media attention may well have some impact on Senator Nelson. He is already under a lot of pressure.

He also said if we could get national media attention that would be very helpful.

The other organizers on the call offered their support by way of encouraging whoever could possibly come from their states, spreading the word, gathering national media contact information they have, and by donating money for us to run an ad campaign about the rally (see below).

Chris Comeaux from Tea Party of Louisiana has made plans to travel to Lincoln to help on Monday and Tuesday. I have heard from a couple of other organizers that they are trying to work things out so they can come also.

PLEASE – DRESS WARMLY!!

We already have….
Lights
Sound system
Gary!

So we need YOU and for you to drag as many people along as you can – and could use HELP, especially in getting the word out, and participating in flyer distribution we are arranging.

IF you want to help, leave a comment below.

If you need sign ideas, see this POST.

Facebook event
NOTICE
For this limited purpose we ARE trying to raise money to run ads on TV, radio, and print on Monday and Tuesday. There is a donate button on the Grassroots in Nebraska website for this purpose.
Once this event is over, the button will come down.

See more details and RSVP on Grassroots in Nebraska:
http://netcot.ning.com/events/event/show?id=2776060%3AEvent%3A9986&xgi=4jZ0mQbLf1CHZU&xg_source=msg_invite_event

From Grassroots in Nebraska, December 22, 2009.

A message to all members of Grassroots in Nebraska
Bombard Ben Nelson

Let’s keep the pressure on Senator Nelson through Wednesday!

Besides the rally scheduled for Tuesday (see below), we need people to call, fax, email and make personal visits to his offices. Apparently, there has been a very orchestrated effort by groups who are in favor of the bill to bombard him.

YES you will have difficulty getting through but please keep trying.
If there is anytime when we are going to exert effort in the way it is NOW.

IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN COORDINATING AN ONGOING PRESENCE DURING BUSINESS HOURS (INCLUDING A PICKET LINE WITH SIGNS) AT THE LINCOLN OFFICE, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT AND WE WILL GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU

Contact information:

Senator Ben Nelson

Website http://bennelson.senate.gov/ (includes Email contact form)

Omaha
7602 Pacific St.
Ste 205
Omaha, NE 68114
Tel: (402) 391-3411
Fax: (402) 391-4725

Lincoln
440 North 8th Street
Suite 120
Lincoln, NE 68508
Tel: (402) 441-4600
Fax: (402) 476-8753

Washington, D.C.
720 Hart Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-6551
Fax: (202) 228-0012

Scottsbluff
Tel: (308) 631-7614

Kearney
Tel: (308) 293-5818

South Sioux City
Tel: (402) 209-3595

This event is posted on Facebook

Tuesday’s Rally Event on…
PLEASE NOTICE FLYERS ATTACHED IF YOU HAVE TIME TODAY – PLEASE PASS SOME OUT
PLEASE Dress warmly for this evening!
Bring signs. Check out the Signs and Slogans tab on the website if you need more ideas.

Be sure to check out the YOUTUBE Video for the rally. Rally Video

This ad MAY run sometime today on radio or TV – with the situation on a short tether and so fluid, nailing pre-rally ads down has been a challenge.
If this ad doesn’t run, we will place ads for Wednesday that are generally aimed at Nelson’s decision.
Visit Grassroots in Nebraska at: http://netcot.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

From Politico, December 22, 2009.

“Rep. Parker Griffith switches to GOP”

“POLITICO learns Rep. Parker Griffith will announce today that he’s switching parties to become a Republican.”

“POLITICO has learned that Rep. Parker Griffith, a freshman Democrat from Alabama, will announce today that he’s switching parties to become a Republican.
According to two senior GOP aides familiar with the decision, the announcement will take place this afternoon in Griffith’s district in northern Alabama.
Griffith’s party switch comes on the eve of a pivotal congressional health care vote and will send a jolt through a Democratic House Caucus that has already been unnerved by the recent retirements of a handful of members who, like Griffith, hail from districts that offer prime pickup opportunities for the GOP in 2010.
The switch represents a coup for the House Republican leadership, which had been courting Griffith since he publicly criticized the Democratic leadership in the wake of raucous town halls during the summer.
Griffith, who captured the seat in a close 2008 open seat contest, will become the first Republican to hold the historically Democratic, Huntsville-based district. A radiation oncologist who founded a cancer treatment center, Griffith plans to blast the Democratic health care bill as a prime reason for his decision to switch parties—and is expected to cite his medical background as his authority on the subject.”

“Signs of Griffith’s dissatisfaction with his party began to surface publicly during the summer recess, when he received an earful of criticism from constituents.
In August — one month after Republicans picked up his former state legislative seat in a special election — Griffith told a local newspaper that he wouldn’t vote for Nancy Pelosi to remain as House Speaker because she’s too divisive. He joked that if she didn’t like it, he’d provide her with a gift certificate to a mental health center.
He added that if the Democratic leadership wouldn’t commit to working in a more bipartisan manner, “perhaps we should look at altering that.”"

Read more:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30896.html

Thanks to commenter Patriot Dreamer.

Heaven has it’s hierarchy of angels

Angels
Archangels
Principalities
Powers
Virtues
Dominions
Thrones
Cherubim
Seraphim

Likewise, on earth we have a hierarchy of stupidity

Ignoramus
Fool
Imbecile
Moron
Idiot
Lying, Ignorant, Foolish, Imbecilic, Moronic Idiots
Congressmen

From the Washington Times, December 20, 2009.

“Sen. Whitehouse: foes of health care bill are birthers, right-wing militias, aryan groups”

“Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) today took shots at those who are not supporting the health care legislation. During a floor speech, he excoriated Senate GOP members for holding up the pending health care bill and accused their supporters of being birthers and fanatics in right-wing militia and Aryan support groups. He started off by citing an editorial from the Manchester Journal Inquirer, which used the insult “lunatic fringe.”:”

“After explaining why absent GOP members who did not vote for the Department of Defense spending bill was tantamount to a “no” vote, he went on to say that Republicans and their supporters just want to “break” the momentum of President Obama.:
“Voting ‘no’ and hiding from the vote are the same result. Those of us on the floor see it. It was clear the three of them who did not cast their yes votes until all 60 Senate votes had been tallied and it was clear that the result was a foregone conclusion. And why? Why all this discord and discourtesy, all this unprecedented destructive action? All to break the momentum of our new young president.

They are desperate to break this president. They have ardent supporters who are nearly hysterical at the very election of President Barack Obama. The birthers, the fanatics, the people running around in right-wing militia and Aryan support groups, it is unbearable to them that President Barack Obama should exist. That is one powerful reason. It is not the only one.”"

Read more:

http://washingtontimes.com/weblogs/watercooler/2009/dec/20/sen-whitehouse-foes-health-care-bill-are-birthers-/

To the good citizens of Rhode Island:

If you need any assistance removing this idiot, we will come to your aid.

From Tea Party Express III.

“Disgusted with Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid? 
Well, we at the Tea Party Express sure are, and we’ve dedicated ourselves towards defeating Reid in the upcoming 2010 congressional campaign.  Here’s our brand new TV ad to “Defeat Harry Reid” – please watch it and share it with others:”

To help get this ad broadcast on every Nevada TV station morning, noon and night, please make a donation to our “Defeat Harry Reid” campaign – HERE.

https://secure.donationsafe.com/tea/
Our goal is to raise $100,000 for this campaign in the next 5 days.  That’s $20,000 per day, so please make a contribution of any amount from as little as $5 to the maximum allowed $5,000.
To meet our fundraising goals to “Defeat Harry Reid” we’re hoping 465 people can make a contribution of $100 or more.

Or if you prefer, you can mail in a contribution to the “Defeat Harry Reid” campaign:
Our Country Deserves Better PAC
ATTN: Defeat Harry Reid Campaign
770 L Street #1020
Sacramento, CA 95814

http://www.teapartyexpress.org/home/

Jeff Schreiber does a great job over at America’s Right. Here is a great article about the rape of America that just took place while most of us were sleeping. Thanks Jeff.

“Is This For Real?

It’s 11:15 p.m. on a Sunday night. I’m in a king-size hotel room bed in Athens, GA with a snoozing wife and a three-year-old who is still singing “he sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake” despite the long, fun-filled day she had. It’s late. And, yet, on one side of my sister-in-law’s fancy MacBook Pro is a live stream from the floor of the United States Senate.

It’s 11:15 p.m. on a Sunday night. And Florida Sen. Bill Nelson is speaking, right now, on the floor about the Senate’s health care reform bill, which will be voted on in a little less than two hours from now. He’s talking about how private insurance companies will be forced to spend 85 cents out of every dollar on patient health care costs. Where, may I ask, does our federal government have the authority to mandate the capital structure of private companies? Where?

Why else would the lights even be on in the Capitol building unless our government is up to no good? This is legislation which will not even come into effect until 2014, two years after the next presidential election, and yet the Democrats feel it so essential to work through the night as the last weekend before Christmas comes to a close?

Most of America is fast asleep. Most of the people whom these senators represent, even if they wanted to pay attention, are sawing logs (probably not literally, though I’m sure there are a strange few) and catching winks in advance of a working Monday tomorrow. These people have no business whatsoever working right now. It might be different if they were burning the midnight oil in an attempt to save the nation with legislation that would have an immediate impact, but they are not — instead, they’re planning the destruction of our economy and health care system through legislation which will not take effect (other than the spending aspect of it) for another four years. If this is a great bill, if it is so necessary, and if the 60 percent or so of Americans who vigorously oppose it just don’t have their facts straight, then they should be debating it during the day, when most of America is awake and attentive.

12:06 a.m.

Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander made an excellent point — the reason they’re working now is because Harry Reid dropped a 400-page amendment on Friday, something that has been written and kept under the cover of darkness, and that they want to have it passed as part of the bill before Americans can figure out what’s in it.

I can count on the fingers of one hand when I’ve read 400 pages of anything in one day. One was Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park, which I read in the course of one night as a kid. Another was Bernie Goldberg’s Bias, which may not be 400 pages long, but was finished in the course of a single afternoon. Reading, digesting and researching 400 pages of legislative language in one day is nearly impossible.

Other things Alexander noted:
$470 billion over the next ten years will be cut out of Medicare, and about $1 trillion in total.
$548 billion in new taxes starting next year. So much for reducing joblessness. And the taxes on medical devices will be passed along to consumers, as will the increased regulation on private insurers, which will be passed along in the form of increased premiums. So much for reducing health care costs.

The CBO said that 9 million will lose employer-based insurance. So much for insuring everyone.
Changes the bi-partisan agreement not to federally fund abortion.

A political kamikaze mission toward an unfortunate mistake. Damaging to the Democrats, but worse for our country. Nicely put.”

“12:32 a.m.

Chris Dodd is up. I can’t even look at him, nonetheless listen to him, without getting irreversibly angry. The only time I want to see Christopher Dodd at 12:32 a.m., or frankly at any time of day, is if he’s wearing handcuffs. And not in a Barney Frank kind-of-way, either — I want to see Dodd being led into prison like Bernie Madoff.

More Ted Kennedy stuff. Good grief. If Ted Kennedy were a normal, everyday American in the aftermath of this legislation, he would have been cold and dead long before he passed with the benefit of the best health care that money can buy, the same health care innovation and ingenuity that the Democrats are poised to stifle, discourage and destroy.”

“12:54 a.m.

And, as if to show evidence of nothing good happening in Washington, D.C. at all, Harry Reid is up.

Every ten minutes, he says, another American dies because they don’t have health insurance. Oh, please. We have emergency rooms ready and able to care for illegal immigrants who have no identification, nonetheless insurance. What’s going to happen is that Americans are going to die because Democrats destroyed the American health care system. What’s going to happen is that Americans are going to die while waiting for six months for a biopsy.

I will dance a jig in my new living room next November when Fox News Channel calls the Nevada election for whomever is running against Reid. And then I’ll switch over to MSNBC–just for a moment–to watch them call it. In fact, I will keep champagne on ice to enjoy during his concession speech.

And, gosh darn it, health care is NOT a fundamental right. Freedom is a fundamental right, and what they are doing right now is destroying freedom in the name of the perpetuation of power.”

“1:08 a.m.

Here goes. Cloture on Reid’s amendment, and the vote which sets up a Christmas Eve vote on the destruction of American freedom and prosperity. I mean, seriously? They need to tear these people away from their families, just so Americans from coast to coast will be too busy eating dinner and enjoying their own families to notice?

Bayh is an “aye.” Burris is an “aye.” Byrd has been dusted off and wheeled in; he’s an “aye.” Bob Casey, supposedly a pro-life Democrat, is an “aye” to a bill which federally funds abortions. Susan Collins votes “no.”

Lieberman? Aye.

Lincoln? Aye.

Landrieu? Aye.

Nelson? Aye. Unreal.

Cloture passes by a vote of 60 to 40. At 1:18 a.m. Procedural votes will come at 7:00 a.m. Tuesday and 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The vote for final passage will come at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday night. That’s Christmas Eve. It seems America will be getting a lump of coal in her stocking this year, and from this year on.”

This is a must read and please pass this on:

http://www.americasright.com/2009/12/is-this-for-real.html

Citizen Wells

Next election

Lieberman voted out, Aye.

Lincoln voted out, Aye.

Landrieu voted out, Aye

Reid voted out, Aye!!!!!

Thanks CW commenters.

From the The Library of Congress Daily Digest, Saturday, December 19, 2009 and Sunday, December 20, 2009, approx 9:45, ET Sunday.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Daily Digest

HIGHLIGHTS

Senate agreed to the motion to concur in the amendment of the House of Representatives to the amendment of the Senate to H.R. 3326, Department of Defense Appropriations Act.

Senate agreed to H.J. Res. 64, Continuing Resolution.

[Page: D1499]  GPO's PDF

Senate

Chamber Action

Routine Proceedings, pages S13471-13555

Measures Passed:

Continuing Resolution: Senate passed H.J. Res. 64, making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2010, clearing the measure for the President.

Page S13477

Measures Considered:

Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act–Agreement:Senate resumed consideration of H.R. 3590, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the first-time homebuyers credit in the case of members of the Armed Forces and certain other Federal employees, taking action on the following amendments proposed thereto:

Page S13477

Pending:
Reid Amendment No. 2786, in the nature of a substitute.

Page S13477

Reid Amendment No. 3276 (to Amendment No. 2786), of a perfecting nature.

Page S13477

Reid Amendment No. 3277 (to Amendment No. 3276), to change the enactment date.

Page S13478

Reid Amendment No. 3278 (to the language proposed to be stricken by Amendment No. 2786), to change the enactment date.

Page S13478

Reid Amendment No. 3279 (to Amendment No. 3278), to change the enactment date.

Page S13478

Reid Motion to commit the bill to the Committee on Finance, with instructions to report back forthwith, with Reid Amendment No. 3280, to change the enactment date.

Page S13478

Reid Amendment No. 3281 (to the instructions (Amendment No. 3280) of the motion to commit), to change the enactment date.

Page S13478

Reid Amendment No. 3282 (to Amendment No. 3281), to change the enactment date.

Page S13478

During consideration of this measure today, Senate took the following action: The motion to proceed to consideration of the bill, and the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to consideration of the bill, were rendered moot.

Page S 13473

A motion was entered to close further debate on Reid Amendment No. 3276 (to Amendment No. 2786) (listed above), and, in accordance with the provisions of Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, a vote on cloture will occur on Monday, December 21, 2009.

Page S13477

A motion was entered to close further debate on Reid Amendment No. 2786 (listed above), and, in accordance with the provisions of Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, a vote on cloture will occur on Monday, December 21, 2009.

Page S13477

A motion was entered to close further debate on the bill, and, in accordance with the provisions of Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, a vote on cloture will occur on Monday, December 21, 2009.

Page S13477

A unanimous-consent-time agreement was reached providing for further consideration of the bill at approximately 1:00 p.m., on Sunday, December 20, 2009, with the time until 1:30 p.m. to be equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders; that beginning at 1:30 p.m., and until 11:30 p.m., there be alternating hour blocks of time, with the Republicans controlling the first hour block; that at 11:30 p.m., Senate then recess until 12:01 a.m., Monday, December 21, 2009; the time until 1:00 a.m. be equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders, or their designees; with the Majority Leader controlling the final 10 minutes prior to 1:00 a.m., and the Republican Leader controlling the 10 minutes immediately prior; that at 1:00 a.m., Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on Reid, and other manager’s amendment.

Page S13478D1500

House Messages:

Department of Defense Appropriations Act: By 88 yeas to 10 nays (Vote No. 384), Senate agreed to the motion to concur in the amendment of the House of Representatives to the amendment of the Senate to H.R. 3326, making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, after taking action on the following motions and amendments proposed thereto:
Rejected:

[Page: D1500]  GPO's PDF

Reid motion to concur in the amendment of the House to the amendment of the Senate with Amendment No. 3248 (to the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment), to change the enactment date. (By 63 yeas to 35 nays (Vote No. 382), Senate tabled the motion.)

Page S13476

During consideration of this measure today, Senate also took the following action:
Reid Amendment No. 3252 (to Reid amendment No. 3248), to change the enactment date, fell when Reid motion to concur in the amendment of the House to the amendment of the Senate with Amendment No. 3248 was tabled.

Page S13472

By 63 yeas to 35 nays (Vote No. 383), three-fifths of those Senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in the affirmative, Senate agreed to the motion to waive section 311(a)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and all budget resolutions with respect to Reid motion to concur in the amendment of the House to the amendment of the Senate to the bill. Thus, the point of order raised was rendered moot.

Page S13476

Messages from the House:

Page S13489

Additional Cosponsors:

Page S13490

Amendments Submitted:

Page S13490

Record Votes: Three record votes were taken today. (Total–384)

Page S13476

Adjournment: Senate convened at 6:45 a.m. and adjourned at 5:34 p.m., until 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 20, 2009. (For Senate’s program, see the remarks of the Majority Leader in today’s Record on page S13555.)

Committee Meetings

(Committees not listed did not meet)

No committees meetings were filed.

House of Representatives

Chamber Action

Public Bills and Resolutions Introduced: 1 public bill, H.R. 3845; and 2 resolutions, and 2 H. Res. 923-924 were introduced.

Page H15506

Report Filed: A report was filed on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 as follows: H.R. 3845, to extend and modify authorities needed to combat terrorism and protect civil liberties, with an amendment (H. Rept. 111-382, Pt. 1).

Page H15506

Speaker: Read a letter from the Speaker wherein she appointed Representative Edwards (MD) to act as Speaker Pro Tempore for today.

Page H15505

Chaplain: The prayer was offered by the Guest Chaplain, Reverend Gene Hemrick, Washington Theological Union, Washington, DC.

Page H15506

Communication from the Sergeant-at-Arms: The House received a communication from Wilson Livingood, Sergeant-at-Arms, wherein he notified the House that the time previously appointed for the next meeting of the House was to be 6 p.m. on Saturday, December 19, 2009. Pursuant to clause 12(c) of rule I, the Sergeant-at-Arms notified the House that an imminent impairment of the place of reconvening at that time is due to the weather.

Page H15505

Senate Message: Message received from the Senate by the Clerk and subsequently presented to the House today appears on page 15506.

Quorum Calls–Votes: There were no Yea and Nay votes, and there were no Recorded votes. There were no quorum calls.

Adjournment: The House met at 12 noon and at 12:03 p.m. stands in recess until approximately 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, December 23, 2009.

Committee Meetings

No committee meetings were held.

Joint Meetings

No joint committee meetings were held.

COMMITTEE MEETINGS FOR SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2009

(Committee meetings are open unless otherwise indicated)

Senate

[Page: D1501]  GPO's PDF

No meetings/hearings scheduled.

House
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Next Meeting of the SENATE
1:00 p.m., Sunday, December 20  
Senate Chamber

Program for Sunday: Senate will continue consideration of the H.R. 3590, Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act, with alternating hour blocks of time for debate until 11:30 p.m. Senate will then recess until 12:01 a.m., Monday, December 21, 2009, and vote on the motion to invoke cloture on Reid, and other manager’s amendment at 1:00 a.m., on Monday, December 21, 2009.

 http://thomas.loc.gov/j110/j110index1.html

To all Americans.

Especially to all senior citizens, who survived the Great Depression and fought hard to save this country and keep it free.

Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama are ramming an unwanted Health Care Bill down our throats, a bill that cuts billions from Medicare. To do this they have bought the votes of Mary Landrieu and Ben Nelson with hundreds of billions of dollars that belong to Medicare and the American taxpayers.

That is about as low as it gets. But just when you think they cannot sink any lower.

From Right March.

Harry Reid has Scheduled the ObamaCare Vote for 1:00 AM MONDAY
Click Below to Tell the Senate to VOTE NO
https://secure.conservativedonations.com/rm_obamacare3/?a=3437

ALERT: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled the vote on the ObamaCare bill, the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” – at 1:00 AM MONDAY MORNING!.
You read that right: the liberal Democrats are preparing to sneak through their socialist health care bill… IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!
That means that TODAY, it’s up to YOU AND ME to STOP the government takeover of health care in America!
TELL THE SENATE TO REJECT SOCIALIZED HEALTH CARE
BETTER KNOWN AS “OBAMACARE”:
SEND YOUR FAXES NOW!
 
All week long, weve been leading the efforts of our members to contact every single Senator, to DEMAND that they reject Harry Reids socialistic ObamaCare bill — and as a result, over one hundred and fifty-eight THOUSAND faxes have FLOODED those Senate offices ALL WEEK LONG!
Weve been able to keep the pressure on both Democrats and Republicans, letting them know that WE ARE WATCHING THEM and that we DEMAND they put a STOP to this radical monstrosity of a bill. And the good news is… we ARE having an effect on them!
WE CAN STILL DEFEAT THIS BILL. The bill pushed by Obama, and passed by leftist Democrats in the House, is NOT getting the full support of every Democrat in the U.S. Senate; and without all 60 of those votes, they will NOT be able to pass the NEXT cloture vote coming up soon…
Which means that we can STILL defeat it there — IF we can overwhelm every Senator with our demands to STOP it!
Harry Reid has now introduced what is called his managers amendment — the secret deal that will serve as a substitute for the decoy that was the 2,074-page bill the Senate has been debating for the past three weeks. So is this bill any better?
NO IT STINKS:
The bill slashes hundreds of billions from Medicare to fund a new government program – cuts to hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices that care for our seniors cuts that a pair of Senate Democrats voted repeatedly to reject.
The bill includes massive tax increases on American families and businesses at a time of double digit unemployment.
The bill breaks the Presidents pledge that no American earning under $250,000 would see their taxes increase under this plan.a pledge that five Democrats voted to uphold just last Tuesday.
The bill allows for the funding of abortions, violating the longstanding policy of the Hyde amendment. The language is significantly weaker than Nelson-Stupak amendment which seven Senate Democrats and 64 House Democrats supported.
The bill includes a massive new entitlement -the CLASS Act – which the Democrat chairman of the Budget Committee described as a Ponzi scheme. A bipartisan majority (including 11 Democrats) voted to strike the CLASS Act — and they should withhold their support.
The bill will impose massive burdens to many states at a time when states are already struggling. At the same time, it gives special treatment to a select few states, so that taxpayers in Virginia, Arkansas, and Ohio, will pay higher taxes to subsidize the Medicaid programs of favored few (Nebraska Massachusetts, and Vermont).
We MUST NOT lose this fight. Harry Reid STILL does not have all 60 votes he needs to enact cloture and force a vote on his bill — but you can BET hes doing everything he can to GET those final one or two! If we can STOP him from getting them — that means THE BILL WOULD DIE!
We CAN still win, by keeping the Democrats from getting the 60 votes they need on the next cloture vote, scheduled for MONDAY MORNING AT 1:00 AM… but we can’t do it without YOUR help!
TELL THE SENATE TO REJECT SOCIALIZED HEALTH CARE
BETTER KNOWN AS “OBAMACARE”:
SEND YOUR FAXES NOW!
TAKE ACTION:Here is the Countdown To Americas Doom that we MUST STOP:

– MONDAY, DEC 21st — 1 am — Cloture vote on manager’s amendment (this is Reids secret deal that will serve as a substitute for the decoy that was the 2,074-page bill the Senate has been debating for the past three weeks)

–TUESDAY, DEC 22nd –7 am — Cloture vote on full substitute bill

–WEDNESDAY, DEC 23rd — 1 pm — Cloture vote on overall bill

–THURSDAY, CHRISTMAS EVE — 7 pm — Final passage vote on health care reform — THEY ONLY NEED 51 VOTES TO PASS IT THEN!

DONT GET DISCOURAGED — there are still at least four Democrats that we know of, who have NOT announced that they will vote for cloture. At the same time, there are a few liberal GOP RINOs who are dangerously close to voting Yes.

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE SENATORS NEED TO KEEP HEARING FROM US TO BE CONVINCED!

We CANNOT let the radical liberals in Congress — and the White House — force this plan for socialized health care on the American people! That’s why we’ve set up our website to enable you to send a strong message to every single member of the U.S. Senate, OPPOSING this outrageous plan.
For about what it would cost you in time and telephone charges, you can send Blast Faxes to Democrats, Republicans, Independents — EVERYONE in the U.S. Senate, DEMANDING that they REJECT this socialized health care plan NOW!
TELL THE SENATE TO REJECT SOCIALIZED HEALTH CARE
BETTER KNOWN AS “OBAMACARE”:
SEND YOUR FAXES NOW!
This fight CAN BE WON! Please, take action right away to STOP this bill in the U.S. Senate!

Sincerely,

William Greene, President
RightMarch.com PAC

Just in from Grassroots in Nebraska, Sunday, December 20, 2009.

A message to all members of Grassroots in Nebraska
Please see the information at the bottom of this message regrading a rally in Omaha I was told about last evening.

Our rally is ON for Tuesday.
As most of you well know, Senator Nelson announced today he will vote the health care bill forward.
Senator Nelson did a special live radio show on 1110 KFAB, explaining his rationale. You can listen by CLICKING HERE.

REGARDING SENATOR NELSON’S STATEMENTS on Saturday:

It is clear that Sen. Nelson is doing what he so frequently does on controversial or unpopular bills; he grabs a lot of media attention regarding how he cannot vote for it, threatens to support a filibuster, maneuvers for some special interest group, pet spending projects, and ultimately votes for the bill, claiming how has improved it. Generally, this goes by with little attention from Nebraska media on the end result.
In this case, he did, by all accounts little to no good in regards to protecting life, secured provisions which would benefit insurance companies, and put the rest of America on the hook to fund Nebraska’s Medicaid expenses in perpetuity.

In this case, Senator Nelson “reserved the right” to vote against the final version of the bill should the agreement he reached with Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Chuck Schumer change in a “material way”.
In other words, Senator Nelson can claim he “I voted for it, before I voted against it”.

I do NOT think Nebraskans will be as easily fooled as Senator Nelson hopes. 67% OPPOSE the Health Care Bill.

A vote “YES” for cloture (to move the bill forward) is a “YES” vote for government run health care.
WHAT YOU CAN TO DO HELP WITH THE RALLY:
If you can do any of the tasks besides passing the word, please send an email and we will make arrangements, thank you.

* Most importantly – COME to the rally – and grab some friends. DRESS WARMLY. (Yes it will be cold…did the soldiers at Valley Forge go home?)
* IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF YOU WOULD RSVP. PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL WITH SUBJECT LINE “YES 12/22 RALLY”
* Pass the word – let’s get as many people there as possible.
* If you are on Facebook, invite people to the event.
* Print some flyers in quantities of 50 – 100 and distribute them, or give them to someone who will. Please contact me and I will send you a PDF version of the flyer as soon as its available and / or make arrangements for you to give them to someone who is willing to distribute them if you cannot.
* Offer to distribute some flyers. (We will help think of ideas of where / how if needed.)
* Offer to print some handouts for the day of the rally.
* DONATE a few dollars to the “Chip In” that has been set up on the Grassroots in Nebraska home page to pay for some radio and TV ads to get the word out about the rally. Someone has stepped forward to offer some seed money for this effort so if we all add smaller additional amounts, we will be able to get some ads on the air.
* Offer to pass around clipboards on the rally day.
* Offer to figure out some way to do some hot cocoa / hot coffee efficiently at the rally.
* Offer to do some research on the version of the bill (if we ever get to see it!).

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE…
We have a sound system, lights, Gary (music), and speakers.
We have flyers nearly complete.
Are working on media efforts.

WE WILL KEEP EVERYONE POSTED ON ADDITIONAL NEEDS AND FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS

** EMERGENCY RALLY IN [OMAHA] NEBRASKA **
WHAT: Rally opposing Senate Healthcare Bill and Ben Nelson’s support of it.
WHEN: Sunday, Dec. 20th, 3pm, doors open at 2pm
WHERE: Omaha Music Hall, 17th and Capitol,
WHO: Governor Mike Huckabee
Congressman Terry, Auditor Foley and Sens. McCoy, Fulton, Krist, Price, Lautenbaugh to participate as well.

Visit Grassroots in Nebraska at:

 http://netcot.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Citizen Wells

Link to emergency petition to Senator Ben Nelson to vote no:

http://www.huckpac.com/?Fuseaction=Petitions.View&Petition_id=11

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the
Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and
domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;
that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation
or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge
the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”
Congressional oath of office

Ben Nelson, you and all of the Senators and representatives took this oath. It is a damn shame that many of you do not take this oath seriously.

This is not Health Care reform.

This is more government control, more taxes, a higher deficit, less jobs and most important, the ruination of our existing health care system.

Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and the socialist, communist, corrupt Obama Administration will stop at nothing to ram this highly unpopular, illegal, health care ruinous and country ruinous Health Care Bill down our throats.
Harry Reid just quoted a man who was not sure if he should pray to stay alive or to die. How does ruining existing health care, raising taxes, losing jobs, raising the deficit and deferring implementation of a new health care plan for 3 to 4 years help this man or anyone else?

What do we have in this Obscene Health Care Bill?

An unconstitutional Health Care Bill.

Crafted using unconstitutional techniques.

The American people are against it 2 to 1.

Taxpayer money is being used to bribe Senators such as  Mary Landrieu and Ben Nelson.

Taxes will be increased immediately, at the worst possible time. The new plan will not be implemented for 3 to 4 years.

The federal government will have more control over our lives.

The new plan will raise the deficit.

The new plan will ruin our high quality health care system.

Here are some of the immediate reactions on this blog:

“Well, CWers, it’s becoming abundantly clear that incumbent politicians are more interested in taking bribes than keeping their jobs.

They think we’re bluffing. They’ll see we’re not come next November.

Time to take the trash out…”
SueK

“This email about Mary Landrieu was forwarded to me. I wonder how many pieces of Silver Ben Nelson got? Well at least we got to keep the military base.

Patriots:
At our Town Hall Event – the “Voice of the Citizens” – we promised Mary Landrieu’s District Coordinator that we were going to run a commercial comparing her to Judas for accepting Harry Reid’s 300 million dollar bribe.

We asked for donations that night and you guys chipped in $1025.00!!!!

Here is the commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2vwqymXEcU

It is also now on the Homepage of our website. http://teapartyoflouisiana.net/Home/tabid/38/Default.aspx

PLEASE, send it to EVERYONE you know and encourage them to donate. We want this commercial to be HUGE.

In Liberty,
Chris Comeaux
Tea Party of Louisiana”
Jonah

Ben Nelson and other senators and representatives who have been bribed, coerced or otherwise driven by party politics, you are in our sights. You will be removed from office.

From Fox news, December 19, 2009.

“Reid Unveils Health Compromise, Wins Nelson’s Support”

“With a self-imposed Christmas deadline at stake, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid engineered a last-minute compromise that has won the support of the lone Democratic holdout and clinched the required 60 votes to pass a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. health care system.

Democratic leaders offered Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska a deal similar to the $300 million in Medicaid aid Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana got for her support, numerous sources told Fox News.

When asked about this, Sen. Kent Conrad, a key Democratic leader involved in the negotiations with Nelson, said, “Oh, it’ll be much more.”

The conservative Nebraska Democrat announced his support in a news conference Saturday, adding that he reserves the right to vote against the final bill if substantial changes are made by House and Senate negotiators.

Marathon negotiations with the White House and Senate Democratic leaders produced fresh concessions that will mean additional abortion restrictions in the legislation.

The compromise package Reid released Saturday also puts new limits on insurance company  profits.The measure would require insurers in the individual market to spend 80 percent of premiums on medical care. The requirement for group policies would be 85 percent.

That would limit overhead and profits. Children could not be denied coverage for health problems.

On abortion, the measure would let states disallow coverage in new insurance exchanges.”

“With Nelson’s vote, Obama’s Senate allies would have the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster by Republicans.

That gave Nelson enormous leverage as he pressed for concessions that included stronger restrictions on abortions to be covered by insurance policies offered in a newly overhauled health care system. Officials said he was also seeking to ease the impact of a proposed insurance industry tax on nonprofit companies, as well as win more federal funds to cover Nebraska’s cost of treating patients in Medicaid, the state-federal health care program for the poor. These officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, said the administration and Democratic leaders had offered concessions on those points.

The Nebraska Democrat has already rejected one proposed offer on abortions as insufficient, and the presence in the talks of Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., indicated additional changes were on the table.”

“Gone is a government insurance plan modeled on Medicare. So is the fallback, the option of allowing aging baby boomers to buy into Medicare. The major benefits of the bill won’t start for three or four years, and then they’ll be delivered through private insurance companies.”

Read more:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/18/nelson-cites-real-progress-health-care-talks/

From Americans for Prosperity, December 18, 2009, Obama speaks and panders to his socialist, communist comrades in Copenhagen.

Today, President Obama is at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. This morning he spoke from the same podium that Venezuelan socialist strongman Hugo Chavez used to decry the “silent and terrible ghost” of capitalism – to declare that “capitalism is the road to hell.”
The enraptured global warming radicals at the Copenhagen conference rewarded Chavez with a standing ovation for his anti-freedom diatribe, telling us everything we need to know about the modern radical environmental movement headed by Al Gore.
If you have any doubt that many global warming extremists are self-proclaimed communists and socialists – CLICK HERE for an AFP video showing these extremists marching through the streets of Copenhagen.
President Obama had an opportunity to stand up and defend the economic freedoms of our great nation, which have made America the greatest and most prosperous on earth.
Instead, he chose to pander to his adoring supporters abroad, saying: “America will fulfill the commitments that we have made: cutting our emissions in the range of 17 percent by 2020, and by more than 80 percent by 2050 in line with final legislation.”
Clearly, President Obama wants to join these radicals in signing a binding international treaty that will bring cap-and-trade-style energy taxes and energy rationing to our nation.
As you know, we were in Copenhagen last week for a briefing we beamed back live to 24 grassroots events across the United States (from Billings, Montana to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and in between). Thousands more watched from home or work on our AmericansforProsperity.org website.
Without a doubt the most frustrating moment of the Copenhagen trip was sitting in the American pavilion at the convention center as Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency head, Lisa Jackson, gleefully touted the EPA’s new finding declaring that carbon dioxide endangers human health and welfare. The room full of mostly Europeans applauded wildly.
Ms. Jackson’s introducer, the U.S. ambassador to Denmark, talked about all she had done as in the director of New Jersey’s state EPA. What irony…New Jersey has one of the worst economies in the nation – people are really hurting – in part due to Lisa Jackson’s job-killing heavy-handed regulatory policies. Now the Obama administration hopes she “does for the United States what she did for New Jersey.”
So far, Americans for Prosperity activists have logged more than 13,000 comments telling EPA to obey its mandate and leave climate legislation to the people’s elected representatives. If you haven’t taken action yet, click here to help stop EPA’s power grab before the December 28th deadline.
We face a long hard fight to overturn or at least mitigate the potentially devastating impact of this EPA “finding” in coming months and years. Speaking in carefully coded environmental-speak, Ms. Jackson discussed what her 18,000 EPA bureaucrats have in mind for small businesses, large corporations and even families. We must and we will hold Congress responsible if they fail to stop what the EPA is trying to do.

I talked to many individual environmental leaders and activists from Greenpeace, Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, members of the U.S. delegation, EPA bureaucrats, and activists from other smaller groups. They’re true believers. In their view only the government can step in and “fix” this problem by forcing individuals to dramatically change their lives, to pay more taxes for the privilege of using energy or creating jobs. Capitalism is THE culprit in their morality tale. Those with a different view are dismissed as ignorant simpletons or denounced as greedy robber barons who must be stopped.
There is no room for compromise in their world.
If we’re going to protect our freedoms and preserve a free market that has pulled generations from the muck and misery of grinding poverty, then we are going to have to defeat them in the public arena.
The good news – the American public agrees with us. Every poll shows support for cap-and-trade policies going downhill. The legislation is dead for this year, after most pundits thought it a done deal earlier this year.
The bad news – from what I saw firsthand in Copenhagen – our opponents have nearly unlimited financial resources, committed grassroots troops of their own, and deeply entrenched organizations that think strategically and act aggressively.
We’ve got to be innovative, aggressive, confident, strategic and on message. Most of all – we have to fight each and every day.
And, that’s exactly what we’re going to do.

Tim

I constantly hear people on TV and around me ask why Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the Democrat controlled Congress keep pushing a bad Health Care Bill that most Americans are against. Many Americans believe that for modern day Democrat politicians it is party and party politics first and the hell with the country. Below are some exerpts from the 2008 Democratic National Convention party rules.

“As Adopted by the Democratic National Committee, February 2, 2007″

Citizen Wells:  This helps explain the convoluted, excessive size of the proposed Health Care Bill. A small portion of the calculation is presented.

“I. DISTRIBUTION OF DELEGATE VOTES

The distribution of votes, delegates and alternates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention shall be in
accordance with the following:”

“A. The number of Convention votes for delegates to the Convention shall be as set forth in the
compilation included in this resolution and determined as provided in paragraphs B, C, D, E, F,
G, H1, and I.

B. A base of 3,000 delegate votes is distributed among the 50 states and the District of Columbia
according to a formula giving equal weight to the sum of the vote for the Democratic candidates
in the three (3) most recent presidential elections and to population by electoral vote. The formula
is expressed mathematically as follows:”

Citizen Wells: “faithful to the interests, welfare and success of the Democratic Party of the United States”

Citizen Wells: Presidential qualifications. The only thing that matters is allegiance to the party.

“VI. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

The term “presidential candidate” herein shall mean any person who, as determined by the National
Chairperson of the Democratic National Committee, has accrued delegates in the nominating process and
plans to seek the nomination, has established substantial support for his or her nomination as the
Democratic candidate for the Office of the President of the United States, is a bona fide Democrat whose
record of public service, accomplishment, public writings and/or public statements affirmatively
demonstrates that he or she is faithful to the interests, welfare and success of the Democratic Party of the
United States, and will participate in the Convention in good faith.”

Citizen Wells

This is presented not to praise the Republicans or other political parties. It is also recognized that rules are necessary for any organized group. However, it is clear that the 2008 DNC rules are convoluted, overly complicated and designed as self serving for the preservation of the Democrat Party. The only qualification for the presidency that they address is allegiance to the party. And saddest of all, there is no mention of looking out for the best interest of the United States and citizens.

This should help you understand what is going on in the senate and White House. It is all about the Democrat Party.

Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the rest of the out of control socialist, Democrat controlled Congress, have been spending taxpayer money at a rate that would bankrupt any cash flow. Today, Hillary Clinton, speaking in Copenhagen, committed $ 100 billion to poor countries for climate change. Yesterday, December 16, 2009, Barack Obama stated during a Charlie Gibson interview on ABC News that failure to pass the Senate Health Care Bill will bankrupt the federal government.

Barack Obama’s intent was to scare senators and citizens into believing that voting for the Senate Health Care Bill is an emergency necessity and no brainer. However, Obama “let the cat out of the bag.”

This is really about the 2010 and 2012 elections and presenting a more favorable deficit position to voters.

How does this work?

Remember, our taxes will go up immediately but benefits (and probably some problems)  from the new health care plan will not kick in for approximately three years. How convenient for Obama. More money will enter the Treasury and he can continue to talk about the pie in the sky benefits of the new plan without experiencing all of the negative impacts.

John Charlton at the Post & Email sheds some light on Obama’s remarks.

“DESPERATION AT SEEING HEALTH CARE BILL DIE IN THE SENATE, HURLS INFANTILE THREAT”

“The Post & Email featured an exposé on Obama’s politics of fraud today, wherein he claims one thing and works for the opposite agenda.

Last night during his interview on ABC with Gibson, Obama was up to his old tricks.  Desperate that his Health Care Bill might die in the Senate, he threw a childish tantrum, threatening the nation that if the Health Care Bill is not passed the Federal Government will “go  bankrupt”!

Not a word that the massive spending increases he has pushed through in 2009 early doubling the national debt; the Health Care Bill included.

Obama is desperate.  The Health Care Bill has nothing to do with preventing the increase of the Federal debt.  It has everything to do with causing it.

It likewise has nothing to do with solving the health care problem, it has everything to do with imposing his power upon every individual and creating a pretext to deny care and thus murder anyone in the country.

Noted doctors have come forward and said that with Obama Care life expectancy will fall for all Americans.  Rationed health care means death.  I can testify to it personally, since I had a good friend, who was an M.D., but who lived in Europe where medicine is rationed, die this year because they scheduled his heart check up 3 days too late!

Socialized medicine is nothing but state control over life and death, and it results in the deaths of 10’s of thousands annually in each country where it is imposed, out of sheer bureaucratic negligence.”

“The Post & Email surmises that Obama’s desperation comes from the fact that Congressman Nathan Deal and his colleagues wrote him a letter asking for his original vital records, and that leading supporters who once believed all of his lies, now realize that he is in an untenable position if he fails to disclose them.”

Read more:

http://www.thepostemail.com/2009/12/17/obama-throws-a-govt-will-go-bankrupped-tantrum/

Breaking news:

(Just announced)

Ben Nelson rejects abortion component of Senate Health Care Bill.

***  More breaking news 1:00 PM ET, see below ***

From Michael Goldfarb of The Weekly Standard, 11:01 PM, December 16, 2009.

“20 GOP Senators Call for Investigation of Offutt Threat” 

“Twenty Republican senators have requested that the Senate Armed Services Committee launch an investigation into reports that the Obama White House threatened to close Nebraska’s Offutt Air Force base unless Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson fell into line on health care. Those reports first appeared on this blog. In the letter to Senators Levin and McCain, the committee chairman and ranking member, the 20 ask that “a hearing be held as to whether the BRAC process has been compromised.”

Meanwhile, both Nelson and the White House strenuously deny the allegation. A statement from White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer asserts “This rumor is absolutely false, as the people spreading it well know. This is nothing but a cynical, crass political game that is designed to maintain the status quo. Let’s be clear: the people spreading these falsehoods think nothing is wrong with a system under which families and businesses continue to bear the brunt of skyrocketing costs, insurance companies are allowed to discriminate and drop at will, and thousands of Americans lose their coverage every single day.”

They protest a little too much. I do not know this story is “absolutely false.” To the contrary, I’m confident it’s true. Twenty senators are now calling for an investigation, and each is presumably pretty well sourced in the Senate. If the charges are “absolutely false,” maybe the White House will encourage Senate Democrats to call this Republican bluff. I won’t hold my breath.”

Read more:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/

**** More breaking News ****

Obama just announced that if the Health Care Bill is not passed, the Federal  government will go bankrupt.

The lying SOB has let the cat out of the bag.

As you know, the bill begins taxing us immediately, but does not kick in benefits for approx 3 years.
What the usurper is really saying is that he needs the revenue to bail out his spending in time for the 2010, 2012 elections.

***  Just in, 1:02 PM ET, 12/17/09  ***

Obama just stated that the federal govt. will go bankrupt. Concurrently, Hillary Clinton just announced.

US offers cash to help poor nations with climate change.

I believe I just heard $ 100 billion!

Thanks to commenter da verg.

From the Wall Street Journal, December 16, 2009, written by Tom Coburn, MD, a senator from OK.

“The Health Bill Is Scary”

“By TOM COBURN”

“I recently suggested that seniors will die sooner if Congress actually implements the Medicare cuts in the health-care bill put forward by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. My colleagues who defend the bill—none of whom have practiced medicine—predictably dismissed my concern as a scare tactic. They are wrong. Every American, not just seniors, should know that the rationing provisions in the Reid bill will not only reduce their quality of life, but their life spans as well.

My 25 years as a practicing physician have shown me what happens when government attempts to practice medicine: Doctors respond to government coercion instead of patient cues, and patients die prematurely. Even if the public option is eliminated from the bill, these onerous rationing provisions will remain intact.

For instance, the Reid bill (in sections 3403 and 2021) explicitly empowers Medicare to deny treatment based on cost. An Independent Medicare Advisory Board created by the bill—composed of permanent, unelected and, therefore, unaccountable members—will greatly expand the rationing practices that already occur in the program. Medicare, for example, has limited cancer patients’ access to Epogen, a costly but vital drug that stimulates red blood cell production. It has limited the use of virtual, and safer, colonoscopies due to cost concerns. And Medicare refuses medical claims at twice the rate of the largest private insurers.

Section 6301 of the Reid bill creates new comparative effectiveness research (CER) programs. CER panels have been used as rationing commissions in other countries such as the U.K., where 15,000 cancer patients die prematurely every year according to the National Cancer Intelligence Network. CER panels here could effectively dictate coverage options and ration care for plans that participate in the state insurance exchanges created by the bill.”

“But the most fundamental flaw of the Reid bill is best captured by the story of one my patients I’ll call Sheila. When Sheila came to me at the age of 33 with a lump in her breast, traditional tests like a mammogram under the standard of care indicated she had a cyst and nothing more. Because I knew her medical history, I wasn’t convinced. I aspirated the cyst and discovered she had a highly malignant form of breast cancer. Sheila fought a heroic battle against breast cancer and enjoyed 12 good years with her family before succumbing to the disease.

If I had been practicing under the Reid bill, the government would have likely told me I couldn’t have done the test that discovered Sheila’s cancer because it wasn’t approved under CER. Under the Reid bill, Sheila may have lived another year instead of 12, and her daughters would have missed a decade with their mom.”

“Dr. Coburn, a physician, is a Republican senator from Oklahoma.”

Read more:

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748703514404574588842779569168-lMyQjAxMDA5MDEwNzExNDcyWj.html

After the Health Care Rally in Washington DC, December 15, 2009, many of the attendees visited their Senator’s office in Washington while others in their home states expressed their concern about the Senate Health Care Bill.

Here are some videos of concerned patriots visiting one of Senator Claire McCaskill’s offices.

“Dana Loesch Expresses Her Concerns To Claires staffer”

View more videos here:

http://sharpelbowsstl.blogspot.com/2009/12/frozen-fun-at-claire-mccaskills.html

From Americans for Prosperity, a report on the Health Care Rally in Washington DC, December 15, 2009.

Yesterday at 1:30 p.m. two very different meetings occurred.

On the grounds of the United States Capitol, thousands of grassroots activists from across the nation rallied in a park with the media present. Our message to the Senate was simple: “Keep your hands off our health care!” CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES

Meanwhile, at the White House, President Obama, Majority Leader Harry Reid, other liberal Senators and their special interest allies met behind closed doors to cut political deals, twist arms and plot strategy — all to get their health care takeover bill across the finish line and out of the Senate.

At our open air rally, Laura Ingraham, Dr. Tom Coburn, Sen. Jim DeMint, Sen. Richard Burr, Sen. Johnny Isakson, Jim Martin of 60 Plus, and our Tea Party Patriot friends Jenny Beth Martin and Mark Meckler detailed our reasons for opposing this disastrous health care takeover while urging Americans to stay in the fight for our freedoms. Across the nation, thousands more Americans went to the local offices of their U.S. Senators with the same message.

Meanwhile, at the White House, the President and his political friends negotiated in secret. Cut their deals in secret. And tried to buy votes in secret.

The contrast could not be more clear. And, that’s why the American people are with us.

Ever wonder if your grassroots efforts make a difference?

Well, let me give you two numbers: 61 and 44.

CNN — hardly a conservative front group — recently reported that 61% of the American people now OPPOSE the Washington health care “reform” effort. Support for the health care takeover is literally in free fall.

The second number: Gallup Polling Company reports that President Obama’s personal approval rating is down to just 44% — the lowest level in history for a President still in his first year.

President Obama has made this ill-advised health care takeover his top priority, and the American people are telling the President loud and clear to stop now. Sadly, he’s not listening.

I could tell you so many stories from today’s rally at the Capitol. But, I’ll hold at just two.

As the rally ended and the thousands of activists headed for their Senators’ offices to deliver their message one-on-one, a young man in a baseball cap walked up to me and said “I’m from Jersey and I closed up my pizza shop for the day to come down here to send a message. Times may be hard but I can always make up the money later and I don’t want my children to live under government-run health care.” With that, he introduced me to his young son.

Minutes later, a retired gentleman from North Carolina holding an American flag (a big one) came up to me, shook my hand and said, “This is the third time I’ve come to Washington, D.C. this year and I’ll come again if I have to. I fought in Korea for freedom and now I’m fighting for freedom again. I’ve never quit at anything in my life and I’m too old to quit at something now!” He gave me a big bear hug and then marched off for the long ride home.

I walked back to my car with that combat veteran’s words ringing in my ears, “I’ve never quit at anything in my life…”

He’s right. We’re not going to quit.

Harry Reid and President Obama and Speaker Pelosi are trying to sell “inevitability.” The idea that this health care takeover cannot be stopped.

We’ve stopped it since the August recess, through Labor Day, then through October, then to Thanksgiving. Now, we’re just over a week from Christmas.

They can be stopped. And, you and I and folks across America are the ones who are standing in the gap for our freedoms. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Tim

PS: No matter what announcements and pronouncements come from Obama, Reid, Pelosi and company,– keep focused on delivering our message through calls, emails, and personal visits to your Senate and House offices. And, now more than ever, get your friends to do the same. CLICK here to send this email to your friends. The Holidays are here but we’ve got to keep fighting.

Citizen Wells

Representative Michele Bachmann was also in attendance.

Barack Obama, the narcissist, liar, illegal, usurper occupant of the White House, believes that he deserves a grade of B plus for his performance. If he truly believes this, he is also still using drugs.

From David Limbaugh, December 14, 2009.

“If B’s Were F’s, Obama Still Wouldn’t Deserve a B-Plus”

“It’s bad enough for America that President Barack Obama is a committed far-left ideologue, but when you couple that with his narcissism, you’ve got a recipe for a major disaster.

He told Oprah Winfrey he deserves “a good solid B-plus” for his first year in office. The only things standing in his way for that coveted A are — for the most part — other people, such as evil Republicans who oppose socialized medicine.

It’s obvious that Obama is as self-absorbed as he is delusional. While most Americans are worried about the financial destruction of our country and our resulting inability to bequeath our heirs a land of liberty, Obama is fretting over the stresses the job is placing on him.

“The biggest burden on me right now is that economic growth has happened, but job growth has not happened.” Note the “burden on me.” Similarly, he said his painfully belabored decision to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan hit him “in the gut.”

Obama insists economic growth has returned and job recovery is just a matter of time, but many are not so sure of either. But all are sure that his unwavering debt path is unsustainable and suicidal.

When the George W. Bush economy was humming for almost eight years, Obama and his media friends gave Bush no credit because, they said, we were experiencing “jobless growth.” These partisan charlatans characterized 4.5 percent unemployment as “joblessness.” What does that make 10 percent — especially in light of Obama’s promise to keep it less than 8 percent?

Shouldn’t Obama be held to the same standard that he and his liberal friends set for President Bush? A June 10, 2007, editorial by George F. Will had it just right: “In 2002, when (Bush’s) tax cuts kicked in and the economy began 65 months — so far — of uninterrupted growth, critics said: But it is a ‘jobless recovery,’ (even though) the unemployment rate steadily declined (to) 4.5 percent.”"

“How he can give himself credit for Iraq is beyond comprehension. He vigorously opposed the surge, which everyone acknowledges turned the war around, and he steadfastly refused to admit he was wrong. Our withdrawal from Iraq is only possible because wiser heads prevailed. As for Afghanistan, he ultimately made the right decision to listen to the generals — partially. He refused to send the number of troops they requested, demoralized our forces and emboldened the enemy in needlessly delaying his decision, and telegraphed our lukewarm commitment to the war by setting a short-term withdrawal date just as he was increasing troop deployments.

How about Obama’s restoration of America’s image? Well, he’s gone around the world telling people how terrible we are — not exactly the smartest PR move. He’s consistently insulted our greatest ally, Britain; a Wall Street Journal article this week notes that he snubbed Britain by failing to mention its support in Afghanistan while touting nations offering less support. He disses our ally Israel, treating it as a terrorist nation and demanding that it unilaterally cease settlements in a portion of its own land.

And how about Obama’s promotion of cap and trade in the midst of ClimateGate, his refusal to back down on Obamacare despite 56 percent public opposition, and his plan to spend the billions of TARP repayments while the nation is on the brink of bankruptcy from his spending?”

Read more:

http://www.davidlimbaugh.com/mt/archives/2009/12/new_column_if_b.html#more

Two words define Barack Obama

Narcissism

Lies

“ACORN’s alliance with the Democratic Party is at the root of the current financial meltdown. And Barack Obama has stayed true to ACORN’s ways.”…Stanley Kurtz

Obama

Lies

Mortgage, Unemployment Crisis

Who is to blame?

The lying, SOB, usurper, Barack Obama is meeting with bankers today. Obama is attempting, once again, to coerce banks to lend money to people who cannot afford the loans. Consistent with his trend of lying, he blames the bankers for the mortgage and unemployment crisis.

However, facts and reality are not on Obama’s side.

The Citizen Wells has provided numerous articles on ACORN corruption, ACORN’s involvement in pressuring banks to make risky loans and Barack Obama’s long time ties to ACORN.

An article dated September 15, 2009 is loaded with facts that indict Obama and ACORN.

October 8, 2008 – Straight from the horse’s mouth

“ACORN Report
The ACORN Report is published by ACORN’s National Office and contains up-to-date information. We have ACORN Reports indexed by date and topic available.”

“City Limits February 1999
During its 15 years in New York City, ACORN has helped squatters claim derelict city-owned property, forced bankers to invest in low-income communities, and organized a war against the city’s workfare program.

It’s also developed a reputation for no-holds-barred tactics—getting results through adversarial campaigns against bankers, politicians and bureaucrats using confrontation and concession rather than consensus. ACORN, unlike most social service non-profits, scorns charity. Their goal is to help poor people seize power.”

This comes straight from the Acorn national office.
Note the following:

“Their goal is to help poor people seize power”

October 13, 2008 – Acorn contribution to mortgage crisis

“FOR years, ACORN had combined manipulation of the CRA with intimidation-protest tactics to force banks to lower credit standards. Its crusade, with help from Democrats in Congress, to push these high-risk “subprime” loans on banks is at the root of today’s economic meltdown.””

““Instead, Democrats like Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Reps. Kennedy and Waters allied with the Clinton administration to broaden the acceptability of risky subprime loans throughout the financial system, thus precipitating our current crisis.

ACORN had come to Congress not only to protect the CRA from GOP reforms but also to expand the reach of quota-based lending to Fannie, Freddie and beyond. By steamrolling the GOP that March, it had crushed the last potential barrier to “change.”””

““ACORN’s alliance with the Democratic Party is at the root of the current financial meltdown. And Barack Obama has stayed true to ACORN’s ways.””

The Truth about Obama and ACORN

September 28, 2009 – Bank of America and other banks ignored warnings

“Do any Catholics work for Bank of America?
From Catholic News Service October 16, 2008.

“Bank of America takes recent allegations made against Acorn and Acorn Housing Corporation employees very seriously,”
What planet has Bank of America been on the past year?

Is this indicative of the power of the mainstream media?

Was Bank of America controlled by the Democrats or Obama camp?

No wonder Bank of America had financial problems.”

Bank of America ignored warnings

Fox News reports on Obama meeting with bankers, December 14, 2009

“White House Tells Bankers to Boost Lending After Bailout Successes”

“President Obama is calling on the financial industry to help dig the economy out of the pit the White House says it helped create, as the president and bank executives headed into a potentially tense meeting Monday morning.”

“The president set the tone for the meeting in an interview broadcast the night before in which he called Wall Street bankers “fat cats” whom he has little obligation to help. In response, the bankers plan to tell the president to stop oversimplifying their concerns.”

“”What the president’s going to say to the bankers is, you guys were part of the problem, you helped create an economic crisis here that cost 7 million Americans their jobs and now you have to be part of the solution,” White House senior adviser David Axelrod said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Axelrod said the industry has to “accelerate lending to credible small businesses” and suggested Congress would take harsh action against the sector if it does not.

“People are not going to tolerate a situation where the bankers have a party, they pick up the tab and then the bankers pay themselves huge bonuses and they’re not lending,” Axelrod said, adding that bankers should be awarded with long-term stock as opposed to up-front cash bonuses.

The White House also wants Wall Street to fall in line with Obama and back a proposal for a consumer protection agency that cleared the House last week.”

“”He can say what he wants, but we’re not going to go back to the kind of lending that put us in this mess,” said a person who is helping prepare executives for the meeting but spoke anonymously because of lack of authorization to discuss the plans.”

Read more:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/14/obama-slams-fat-cat-bankers-eve-meeting/

I, for one, am fed up with the lies and manipulation coming from the lying SOB Obama and cronies such as David Axelrod. I am asking you to spread this information far and wide. The American people must know the truth.

I have been reading and analyzing the ruling from US District Court Judge Nina Gershon, the complaint filed by ACORN attorneys and associated legal opinions and definitions. Judge Gershon, appointed by Bill Clinton, has a far left liberal view of the world and this comes through in her decisions.

How convenient and how liberal

When Obama obtained the electoral college vote and sanction from Congress (in defiance of the US Constitution) it was touted as the will of the people.
Now Congress has cut off funding to ACORN, it has the authority to do so, and District Court Judge Gershon (in defiance of the US Constitution) has ruled this unconstitutional.

Judge Gershon refers to the separation of powers and mistakenly does so when she buys into or embraces the alleged Bill of Attainder from Congress. In reality, she is violating the separation of powers when she impedes Congress from exercising their consitutional mandate to fund or remove funds on behalf of the American people.

This pattern of being guided by far left liberal agendas followed by  irresponsible rulings has been manifest for many years. You may remember the case from November 1999, the so called art exhibit containing a painting of the Virgin Mary that includes some elephant dung. It was apparent from Judge Gershon’s ruling then that she had an agenda that was contrary to protecting the American public and taxpayers.

“Mayor Says Judge Rushed Decision in Museum Case”

“Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani accused a federal judge yesterday of rushing to issue her ruling in the Brooklyn Museum of Art case to block city lawyers from fully investigating the finances of the museum’s ”Sensation” exhibition.

Mr. Giuliani stepped up his attacks on Judge Nina Gershon of United States District Court in Brooklyn one day after she ruled that he had no right to cut the museum’s city financing because he felt ”Sensation” was offensive and blasphemous. The exhibition includes displays of dead animals and a painting of the Virgin Mary that includes some elephant dung.”

Read more:

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/03/nyregion/mayor-says-judge-rushed-decision-in-museum-case.html

The trend is obvious. Judge Nina Gershon has an agenda that blinds her from a realistic interpretation of the US Constitution, one that protects the citizens of the US.

I hope to present a more technical analysis of Judge Gershon’s ruling soon.

WE must insist that Congress not comply with this radical ruling. Tell them to press on.