Obama’s speech on Iraq. Think Bush will get any credit?

Later today, President Obama will be speaking to nation from the Oval Office on the end of combat in Iraq. While watching this speech, we should note where Obama, Biden, and the rest of the Democrats stood when the successful surge was implemented by President George W. Bush.

I originally saw this video on the Third Base Politics blog, but I am posting it again so it can get even more notoriety (not saying that it couldn’t on TBP, but still).

Breaking: Back to square one on Healthcare!

I just saw this one on Politico and Fox News: House Healthcare sham must go back to the House.

Looks like their voodoo math has come to haunt them, since the parts of the bill that deal with Pell Grants (in a healthcare bill?) are in violation of rules. It must go back to Congress to be removed.

Mr. Boehner, rarely does one get another chance like this. Hopefully you prove that you are up to the challenge and can bring victory!

A glorious day for America

It’s been a long time since my last post, which happened to be on this topic. A lot of things occurred since.

With the historic election of Scott Brown in Massachussetts, many people (myself especially) thought that this plan was DOA and the despicable backroom deals that came with it. However, I was wrong.

On March 21st and with a 219-212 vote, the United States federal government is now in charge of 1/6 of the economy.

Special thanks go to Bart Stupak, another politician along the lines of Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu that have discarded their principles for a very short-term gain that will bring a lifetime of problems with the passing of this bill. Stupak, who is a “pro-life” Democrat, had said that he would not support this bill unless it has language from his amendment (known as the Stupak-Pitts amendment) in it that specifically protects the Hyde Amendment (prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion). Yesterday, his stance suddenly changed. At 4 p.m. Sunday, he and a group of supposedly pro-life Dems announced that they will support it after receiving assurances from President Obama that he will sign an executive order that will affirm it.

Yep. An executive order. Would someone like to ask Mr. Stupak and his crew if the Mexico City Policy is still in effect?

Abortion was not my main concern with this bill, it was the questionable math that the Democrats came up with to create this point. And although the CBO did say it would save money, they also acknowledge that past ten years the numbers are really uncertain.

CNN has a good summary of how we will pay for it in this article. Higher taxes and forced purchasing of insurance will occur, but here is what stands out to me:

In the first 10 years, the program it is expected to take in more money than it pays out, which is why the CBO says it would reduce the deficit by $70 billion. But in the second decade and beyond, the program is projected to pay out more than it takes in, and will therefore contribute to the deficit.

That’s why some say that the CLASS Act is a budget gimmick that will not contribute to the potential of health reform to reduce the deficit.

When this occurs, who do you think will be paying for it? That’s right, you the taxpayer.

Senate Republicans will fight the noble fight, but in the end, the left has won. We are moving closer to a welfare state than ever before, and we know how that will turnout.

Senate votes to screw over America’s future

Well, it’s official. By a 60-39 vote, the Democratic Majority passed healthcare “reform”. A vote won by certain Senators (see Nelson, Ben and Landrieu, Mary) being bought by the White House using taxpayer dollars. A vote that will FORCE all Americans to buy health insurance. A vote on a bill that the public does not know the full details of. A vote that has many planks that cannot be repealed (thanks to the most biased news network for informing us of that information).

I hope those that are in the age group of 18-35 are happy with their Obama vote. They are the ones that will be part of the many screwed in this.

Merry Christmas!

Delays in state audit not Strickland’s fault, obviously.

State Auditor Mary Taylor said today that she cannot properly audit until the Strickland Administration provides the financial records, records she should have received at the end of 2008.

A spokesman from Strickland’s office countered her complaint with a memo:

Wurst produced a memo showing that during a June 2007 meeting with Taylor’s office, budget officials suggested ways to help reduce delays with the 2008 audit that other states had experienced when they moved to a new accounting system.

Which makes me wonder: if they have been looking into this since June of 2007, why are they over two months late?

Columbus will be receiving a tax increase

Mayor Coleman during his State of the City Address

Mayor Coleman may not have come out and said it, but it was definately implied in his State of the City address according to the Dispatch.

I wonder what are the costs that make the city budget potentially $50 million over budget?

I cannot, and I am sure that many Columbusites feel the same way, have my taxes increased. Now is not the time. If Mayor Coleman and City Council are the true “fiscal stewards” that they consider themselves, then they must find other ways to get money and trim this budget.

Brunner vs. Fisher is the best thing ever

It’s official:  Jennifer Brunner is running for the Democratic nomination to be Ohio’s next US Senator.

This is good, for two reasons:

1. Whomever leaves this primary will be bloodied and bruised, making the race a little easier for Rob Portman.

I’m not saying that this will guarantee victory for the GOP, but there is a reason why party leadership hates primaries like this one. Look at 2006. In the race for the US Senate on the Democratic side, Paul Hackett was gearing up for a run,  but Sherrod Brown got enough support from party insiders to keep him at bay. Brown then had the momentum (and more importantly, the money) to beat incumbent Mike DeWine. In the race to succeed Gov. Taft, on the GOP side you had Blackwell, Petro, and Montgomery. Then-Ohio GOP Chair Bob Bennett tried to avoid a primary, but all three were bent on running. The “victor”, Blackwell, was damaged and broke and was routed by Ted Strickland.

There are some, like Jill from Writes Like She Talks, makes some good points for Mary Taylor to enter the race, but for the reasons stated above and next I completely disagree.

2. This improves our shot at getting control of Apportionment Board.

A legitimate argument has been made that the AB does not matter since the Democrats won the Ohio House in spite of the districts being drawn by Republicans. However, the AB not only draws the Ohio General Assembly districts, but also Congress. This could mean a more hospitable district in the 1st  for Steve Chabot, or the 13th for Mary Taylor. If Brunner stays in, there is talk that Cuyahoga Co. Prosector Bill Mason could run for Secretary of State, a thought that amuses me. If ODP Chair Chris Redfern is smart, he will avoid Cuyahoga Democrats like the plague, as that is a race that Jon Husted would be a favorite in. A Husted win would definitely give us the AB back, as I believe that Mary Taylor will win a little easier this time.

Primaries are fun!

Biden’s the one for “The One”

Unless you are living under a rock, Barack Obama selected Joe Biden to be his running mate at a rally this afternoon.

I’m not surprised, really. This pick was made to try and cut into the advantage that John McCain has in the experience department. He’s also the perfect running mate for an attack dog, which will help Barack stay above the fray.

I don’t know if this pick helped Obama, but it will definately help the late night talk show hosts.

Here are some classics from Biden:

Here’s another one:

And my favorite:

Idiot liberals ID wrong man as Obama rally heckler

Liberal bloggers from Buckeye State Blog and Blogger Interrupted were up in arms after a heckler was able to get credentials for a Obama rally in Berea this week and got the Democratic nominee to say the Pledge of Allegiance.  However BSB took it further and published the guys personal contact information.

Or so they thought.

The Plain Dealer reported that the info posted was not of the actual heckler, but a random 22 year old guy that just lives in the same town.

I loved the “apology” that came from a blogger known as “Plunderbund”:

Eric Vessels, whose blog is Plunderbund, apologized for the mistake, but defended posting what he thought was the photographer’s number.

“I want people to think before they do these kinds of disruptions,” he said. “I don’t intend people to call and harass. I don’t ever ask them to do that.”

And one of the biggest antagonists that the Ohio liberal blogosphere has to offer, Tim Russo of Blogger Interrupted, had no comment.

I saw the video; the guy was annoying and dumb. If I were at a McCain event and some 9-11 Truthers jeered, I would be pissed. But guess what? That is our right as Americans and that guy had a right also, especially since it’s obvious the Obama campaign will give credentials to anyone!

What that guy did, however, did not warrant the posting of personal info. How would some of those bloggers feel if a conservative posted their info?

This is why access should be limited to this info. When you give idiots this ability and freedom to get NOYB info, they do dumb things with it and an innocent person gets harassed.

BTW, those offending bloggers should personally contact this guy and apologize.

And do more thorough research.

Bill Cunningham is kind of a tool….

……But his intro wasn’t that bad.

However, I’m noticing a very annoying trend among some Republicans. The notion that mentioning Obama’s middle name (which in case you haven’t heard – it’s Hussein) will feed the idea that he’s a Muslim. He’s not, and many Republicans like Cunningham need to recognize that.

We can beat Obama on the issues. When it comes to experience and trust, we beat Obama.

If we continue to make this race about the “Muslim” Barack Hussein Obama and not about the Barack Obama that supports abortion, will surrender in Iraq, and raise taxes, then McCain will lose and Republicans will lose.

Did 2006 teach us anything. Remember the Dan Dodd ad? Or the Montgomery ad where she criticized Marc Dann for defending a child molester? Or the Mike DeWine ad against Sherrod Brown?

I’m not against negative ads and I have no issue with my candidate(s) using them, but ads like those really don’t highlight policy differences – all they do is just smear. And in this race it will not work. We need to tell the honest to God truth about Barack Obama and why he’s unfit to be president; false statements about his religious beliefs should not be a part of the plan.

RNC Chairman Michael Duncan’s response to the Tennessee GOP makes my point.