December 2009 – Page 2

The 2010 slush fund

Last week I received word from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University of a study they did, and the results don’t surprise me. Mercatus Center scholars Veronique de Rugy and Jerry Brito researched a number of federal outlets to figure out that Congressional districts with Democrats are getting twice as much stimulus money as those represented by Republicans but the majority of money isn’t going to areas with the highest unemployment rates. Wait, wasn’t the stimulus supposed to put people back to work?

While the study itself is a tribute to how figures can lie and liars can figure, it also seems to me a contradiction in terms. Here’s why.

For decades, the political perception has been that Democrats are for the working man and Republicans for the rich. If you look at things this way, it makes some sense that Democrat-leaning districts get more funding as poor people tend to need more government assistance.

On the other hand, one would think that since the stimulus was supposed to keep unemployment under 8 percent that those districts which have chronic high unemployment would be those getting funding, and this study shows it’s not necessarily the case. Obviously if you happen to live under a Democrat Congressman in a high unemployment area the money should be rolling in, but apparently that’s not how the stimulus works.

In Washington circa 2009, it’s apparent that everything has become a political calculation. Yet I’d be willing to bet that if the GOP were in charge and Republican-leaning districts were shown to be getting the largest benefit from some government program the mainstream media would be blasting this study all over their newscasts. (Of course, if Republicans had been pressing for such a program they would be getting blame from both sides – the media would be excoriating them for being partisan and conservatives like me would have been angry for their proposing the big-government solution.)

But, just as we’ve seen in the health care debate, having the availability of federal goodies to hand out in order to help with re-election is always handy – it’s one extremely large pot of walking-around money and the best means of wealth redistribution socialists have yet found. Thus, I wouldn’t expect any change in the payout ratio as the 2010 election draws near and Democrats attempt to use every means at their disposal to maintain their grip on power in Washington.

Slamming it down our throat

Apparently the die is cast in the Senate, and it appears by Christmas they’ll pass a health care bill that no sane person wants. (Obviously my friends over at Progressive Delmarva are probably jumping for joy.) But how are they getting it passed? Good old pork and special interest politics.

If the 2,074 page original bill wasn’t good enough, how about 373 more pages dumped on an unsuspecting public in the middle of the night by Harry Reid and company? It features early Christmas presents like the federal government picking up the tab for Medicaid expansion in the state of Nebraska (to buy Sen. Ben Nelson’s vote) and a new university hospital in Connecticut for Sen. Chris Dodd – who’s up for re-election next year – courtesy of you and I. Makes you wonder whether any goodies were placed in the bill for Maryland and Delaware – probably not because our Senators are Democrat hacks who swallowed the Kool-Aid early and were already behind this measure.

And it’s probable that the final product will look more like the Senate bill than the House one because changing too much supposedly risks that precious 60-vote majority in the Senate – at least that’s the conventional wisdom.

But let’s face facts here – the House has plenty of votes to spare on the Democratic side so they can afford to lose a few ‘Blue Dogs’ along the way. They will fall in line with the Senate version – some will do it kicking and screaming, but it will be done. Democrats face the same dilemma that conservative Republicans faced with President Bush when he wanted budget-busting entitlements in that it’s hard to go against the titular leader of your party even if you don’t agree with him. And Bush didn’t play Chicago-style politics like Obama and Rahm Emanuel do.

So it’s likely that 2010 will dawn with the passage of this so-called major achievement, for which I’m sure historians will someday see as another milestone on a once-great republic’s road to ruin. Democrats and the CBO can claim this bill will be “deficit-neutral” all they want but common practice in Washington is throwing that out the window – after all, now we’re paying one state’s Medicaid, another state’s hospital, and assorted other bribes for affirmative votes.

It tells me that the only principle Senate Democrats have is the principle of selling out taxpayers to buy votes. After all, they don’t have to live with the system they’ll create.

Politics: one venue where pouting is rewarded

Well, that is if you believe the Maryland GOP Caucus:

Republican leaders in the House and Senate today condemned Governor Martin O’Malley’s call for another federal bailout for Maryland’s budget. They also called upon the Spending Affordability Committee to significantly reduce the spending recommendations for the FY 2011 budget.

“ Maryland is in desperate need of true fiscal leadership,” said House Minority Leader Anthony O’Donnell. “Governor O’Malley’s total lack of fiscal responsibility has put the state in this precarious position and he needs to stop looking to everyone else to solve these tough problems. First he raided all the surplus revenues, then he increased taxes and government spending, then he advocated for a horrendously flawed slots plan. The federal government bailed him out once already and now he is seeking more federal taxpayer dollars? That is not leadership.”

“My concern is that Governor O’Malley’s first reaction is whining for a federal bailout,” said Minority Leader Allan Kittleman. “The failure of Governor O’Malley’s budget policy is evident by the fact that his three years of misguided leadership has resulted in a $2 billion deficit with no solution except begging for federal funds.”

“Governor O’Malley and the Democratic leadership on the state and federal level are mortgaging our children’s future,” said Senate Minority Whip Nancy Jacobs. “The only way to sustain state and federal spending levels will be to increase taxes which will have a catastrophic impact on this economy. As we come together for the holiday season and watch our children and grandchildren unwrap their Christmas gifts, I shudder to think about the massive national debt we are also passing on to them.”

“Governor O’Malley’s patterns never change, it is always the same story,” said House Minority Whip Christopher Shank. “As mayor of Baltimore, he looked to the state to bail him out of his budgetary problems. As Governor he has gone to the taxpayers, state employees, vulnerable populations, and now twice to the federal government. Some have compared this to going to MasterCard and asking them to increase your credit limit because your Visa card is maxed out. The state needs to stop spending and live within its means, just as our citizens do.”

“It is clear that the Governor lacks the fortitude to manage our fiscal house, and needs the legislature’s guidance,” said Delegate O’Donnell. When the Spending Affordability Committee meets this evening, it needs to send a strong message to the Administration that this fiscal irresponsibility will not be allowed to continue.”

As a matter of fact, the SAC recommended no increase – but that simply means the status quo of coming back to make budget cuts again and again next year unless either the federal government bails us out AGAIN or the economy improves enough to create the revenue stream that the state needs to meet its obligations. My money (what little I have left) is on the former.

O’Donnell, Kittleman, and Shank are right on point with their assessments. While I like Nancy Jacobs overall, perhaps she could have expressed her opinion in a slightly different manner. As we’ve already seen with Governor O’Malley’s first round of tax increases, capital has fled the state in a mass economic exodus. She is right that a tax increase will wreck the economy, but incorrect that it would raise the revenue necessary to feed Martin’s growing appetite for spending with re-election coming nigh.

Yet of this group only Kittleman has voted against all three of O’Malley’s budgets; the other three were fine with O’Malley’s FY2008 budget before voting against the FY2009 and FY2010 versions. In some respects perhaps a pass is necessary since we didn’t have to revisit the budget too often during the Ehrlich years.

With Maryland’s fairly unique status as a state with an executive-driven budget, it’s going to be more important than ever for GOP leadership to present and publicize a sound alternative and maintain the caucus’s position against the bloated budget Governor O’Malley is sure to produce regardless of what the SAC said. Trust me, he’s counting on the difference to come out of Obama’s “stash,” and like those hapless Detroit residents in line for stimulus money, Governor O’Malley obviously believes the taxpayers have a stash to send him money from. Sorry, we’re tapped out.

TEA Partiers to GOP: Can you hear us now?

An interesting poll came out this week and the result probably made Michael Steele and his Republican National Committee cohorts inside the Beltway lose some sleep.

With a question patterned after the generic Congressional ballots Rasmussen surveys from time to time, it was found that 36% of voters would vote for a Democrat and 18% of voters would support a Republican. But 23% would go with a third option, an option that Rasmussen pollsters characterized as imagining the TEA Party coalition as its own political party.

The surprise was apparent because in recent months the GOP had pulled ahead of Democrats in two-way generic Congressional polling just as President Obama has also seen his support tumbling. It looked like the path was clear for a GOP resurgence in 2010.

But this schism in the GOP manifested itself in the NY-23 Congressional race, where GOP selection Dede Scozzafava and Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman split 51.3% of the vote, allowing Democrat Bill Owens a win by plurality.

On a more national scale, history suggests that America splits on the right side of the political spectrum more often than on the left, although recent elections have seen a third-party nominee upset the apple cart once on both sides. By running as part of a significant third party, Ross Perot in 1992 and Ralph Nader in 2000 changed the course of those elections and helped place the eventual winner in office.

While some in the GOP have reached out to the once disaffected and now motivated electorate comprising much of the TEA Party movement, those voters recall the GOP was in control of Washington from 2000 to 2006 and made a lot of questionable moves such as creating a new prescription drug entitlement in Medicare Part D, placing the federal government in further control of local school districts with the No Child Left Behind legislation, and backing down on Social Security reform. All the while federal spending increased, leaving tax cuts and national security after the terrorist attacks on 9-11 the only satisfactory item on the checklist of most fiscal and social conservatives.

With the Rasmussen polling result in hand, those among the TEA Partiers who believe a third party is the way to go gained some fresh ammunition – or so they thought. But even the Rasmussen pollsters warned that an actual third party on the ballot would stand little chance of achieving the results suggested by the poll.

Instead, the better approach may be one that some TEA Party organizers and participants detest, and that’s becoming involved in the existing two-party political apparatus.

It’s apparent to some in the Republican Party grassroots that more attention should be paid to the activists demanding a return to Reagan-era conservatism. Witness the resolution to be debated at the upcoming RNC Winter Meeting which demands candidates who expect help from the national party to be supportive of at least eight points of a ten-point platform which stresses both fiscal and social conservative values along with a strong national defense.

But it’s up to GOP candidates to attract the 23 percent who would otherwise prefer a third-party alternative. With the TEA Party votes and campaign support, the GOP stands a chance of taking back Congress. Without that vote, they are doomed.

Many orators throughout our history have noted that, “united we stand, divided we fall.” Adding the TEA Party coalition to the Republican column can mean victory, but the Republicans need to give these voters a reason to come out and support them.

Michael Swartz is a Liberty Features Syndicate writer.

In my continuing series of op-eds I pen for LFS, this one cleared on December 11.

Ghrist drops Congressional bid, endorses Harris

In the department of “not exactly unexpected” this morning:

Caroline County Commissioner Jeff Ghrist today ended his campaign for Maryland’s First Congressional District and has endorsed Andy Harris for the seat. Ghrist, a lifelong Eastern Shore resident, has pledged to actively campaign to elect Andy Harris as the next Congressman for the district. Harris and Ghrist released the following joint statement:

“These are very serious times for our state and our nation. With unemployment nationally at 10 percent and in Maryland at a 26-year high, we cannot afford to take the focus off what the people of the First District want and need: a strong economy, the ability to find and keep a job, and a representative in Congress that will fight against Washington’s out-of-control spending and racking up of trillion dollar deficits that will be a burden on our children and grandchildren,” Ghrist and Harris said.

Ghrist added, “I am pleased to announce that I am strongly supporting Andy Harris as our next Congressman from the First District. We can no longer have a representative that thinks citizens will sign a blank check for spending that does nothing to improve our economy or allow the creation of good paying jobs. Andy is the right person to lead the district back to prosperity. I entered the race because I was concerned about the direction our nation was headed. I am exiting knowing that Andy Harris is the person to get us back on the right track where our economy can grow, jobs are created, and the unchecked spending sprees in Washington are a thing of the past. I am proud to offer my enthusiastic support to Andy and will work hard to see that he is our next Congressman from the First District.”

Harris said, “Jeff Ghrist is a person of integrity, a friend, and someone who cares deeply about improving our communities. I am grateful to have his support as our campaign moves forward. I will not take any vote for granted and will continue to build the strong coalitions that we need to ensure that the citizens of the First District get a representative that shares their values, not be a loyal servant to Nancy Pelosi and her far-left agenda.”

Last week, the Harris for Congress campaign announced the endorsements of 26 Republican members of the Maryland General Assembly. The Ghrist endorsement offers another strong sign of support for Harris among Republican leaders in the First District.

It was probable that the Ghrist campaign was in trouble when they cancelled a fundraiser earlier this fall, planning to reschedule in the spring. I thought that would be too late because I knew Harris would have a nearly insurmountable fundraising advantage by then.

It’s again worth mentioning (since Harris brought it up in the joint statement) that of those 26 General Assembly Republicans from the First District endorsing Andy, none are from District 36 – E.J. Pipkin’s Senate district. At this point, it’s likely that only Pipkin would be able to command the resources to challenge Harris. And while part of Harris’s original release talks about Ghrist being “the only other Republican candidate in the Congressional race” there is one other announced candidate, Grady Romblad, who to the best of my knowledge is also running as a Republican.

As the campaign season will take a break for the holidays, look for a burst of activity out of Harris after the New Year begins because the 90 days of terror known as the Maryland General Assembly session (beginning January 13) will pretty much take him off the campaign trail temporarily – unless he decides to resign his seat and run full-time. Personally I doubt that happens since he’s not losing a lot of meaningful time during the session, which – barring the need for a Special Session – will run its course in mid-April, about 5 1/2 months before the election. Obviously opponent Frank Kratovil is also handcuffed by his position so there’s no real advantage for Andy to leave early.

The next move on the GOP side, then, is apparently up to Pipkin. But he’d already jumped into the 2008 race by this stage and with his Senate seat up in 2010 I’m not sure this is the year for a Pipkin challenge. The field now seems pretty clear for Harris to train his guns on opponent Frank Kratovil, and the Democrats are probably cowering. It’s making for some politically difficult votes for the freshman legislator.

Poll update 4

Well, we are through the first-round competitions, and astute readers yesterday would have noticed that Delmar DustPan garnered 50% of the vote to advance, defeating Views of a Salisbury Grinch (32%) and Eastern Shore Libertarians (18%) in the closest of the four first-round competitions.

So the semifinals are set, with the four first-round winners (Salisbury News, Twirling Twirling Twirling Towards Freedom, Alive in the Chesapeake, and Delmar DustPan) being joined by two wild cards, those two being the two best second place finishers. Right Coast Girl (30 votes/41% in its competition) and afterthegoldrush (23 votes/39% in its first-round battle) were the top two runners-up and advanced. The fields were reset into seedings (1 thru 6) and worked to be as even as possible without a rematch (in other words, the two runners-up were not placed with their round winner.) The first semifinal features the #1, #4, and #6 seeds while the second has #2,#3, and #5 seeds.

The two winners and one wildcard will advance to the finals, to be held during the week after Christmas.

Friday night videos episode 17

Because this will be the last edition of FNV for 2009 (yes, Virginia, next Friday is Christmas and I’m taking the day off) this episode is subtitled, “The Year in Review.” Yep, it’s a best-of FNV and this will feature my ten favorite videos of those I featured in 2009.

Let’s begin with number 10, Rep. Michele Bachmann’s apt description of government circa 2009:

Number 9 is the first of several movie trailers I liked, for “Not Evil, Just Wrong.”

Coming in at number 8 is the pledge to “Defeat the Debt.”

Another movie trailer for “Border” grabs the number 7 spot.

This clever spot for “Obamacare – Line 6” finishes at number 6.

Coming in at number 5 is another reminder why we don’t need socialized medicine.

Number 4 is the third and final movie trailer, for “TEA Party: The Documentary.”

In a related story, this film about the 9-12 march by a local filmmaker comes in at number 3.

The runner-up at number 2 is the funny short “Health Rations and You.”

My favorite video from FNV 2009 comes from last week. I just plain like the message of this song!

So there you have it – the best of my FNV series for 2009. By the way, a couple of my music videos shot in October were just outside the top 10, but it looks like I’ll have more contenders for next year’s honors because I took several at Skip Dixxon’s 12 Bands of Christmas last night. If they come out well, look for them on the monoblogue YouTube channel over the next few weeks.

Because the next two Fridays are holidays, the plan is for FNV 18 to come out on January 8th. I’ll have quite a bit to choose from since I have two weeks off so that may be one of the best episodes yet. Look for it to kick off FNV in 2010.

2009 State of the County address

Unless some other blogger watched it on PAC-14, this may be the first in-depth analysis you get of the 2009 State of the County address delivered by Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt.

Upon arrival, I found a 20-page “County Executive’s Report to the People” placed on each chair. As expected, it was in full color but this year’s rendition was simply bound with a plastic binder and clear sheet over the cover. This was a cost-saving move, it was revealed later, as the entire production was done in-house. But it conveyed the message of positive things occurring in Wicomico County sufficiently to get the points across.

After greeting the audience both on television and live in the room, Pollitt quoted Thomas Paine in that these were indeed “the times that try men’s souls.” The challenges we faced were unlike any since the Great Depression, and, among other things, Rick noted the hopelessness of current conditions led some to commit criminal acts out of desperation.

While adequately funding the county’s needs was “at risk” in the current climate, Pollitt preferred to see the glass as half full. “America is at its best when it’s challenged,” continued the County Executive, and he was confident that Wicomico County would come through this stronger than ever.

There were two key challenges the county faced in the next year; one being the ongoing budgetary woes. Some “had no idea things would turn out as badly as they have,” and even the state of Maryland was optimistic that their revenues would increase by 5% as late as last May. As we all know now, state cuts and a shortage of revenue on the local side put the county in a precarious financial position.

However, Pollitt claimed there was a bright spot in that the county had been putting money into reserve – “contrary to the belief government spends every penny they get their hands on.” (Well, they do, just not immediately. We are spending some of the money the government got its hands on 2 and 3 years ago.) Again he pointed out that government officials don’t spend money just for the sake of spending it and that government is the “ultimate service provider” on items like education, public safety, roads, parks, public health, the library, our Civic Center, senior citizens, courts, and planning and zoning, which Rick claimed was there to “preserve our rural lifestyle.” For all those, we forget there’s steadily increasing costs.

Pollitt also brought up the county’s bond ratings, which were unchanged from last year thanks to fiscal prudence. Moody’s commented that the county has “maintained a healthy financial position” while Standard & Poor’s commended Wicomico’s “conservative management practices.” But a “minority” is still skeptical about how the county spends its tax dollars.

A common theme in Rick’s presentations is bringing up the question “what kind of county do we want to have?” In Pollitt’s view, we need to evaluate decisions based on quality of life. For Pollitt, it also meant he was “reluctant” to resort to layoffs but the time for them “is approaching quickly” if conditions don’t improve. The next budget would be “more wrenching” than this year’s edition, but he was “being proactive” on the budget – including telling department heads to “start from scratch” on their own budgets.

Rick also announced the formation of two new groups as advisory bodies. The Council of Economic Advisors and the Debt Affordability Advisory Committee would be comprised of local experts and report to him on policy advice.

The second main issue which needed to be addressed was in the area of land use and zoning. His was an effort to balance the rural character of the county with maintaining property values for farmers, who he termed the “most committed environmentalists.” Rick was committed to a “viable farming environment” in Wicomico County.

One pressing issue was restoring the farmland restoration certification and funding from the state, but Pollitt “expected” Wicomico County to be recertified in 2010. He also promised to have a “comprehensive farm bill” to introduce later this winter to address these and other agriculture-realted issues.

Pollitt then shifted his focus to a number of accomplishments shown in the “Report to the People.” Most prominent among them were the continuing usage of the county’s prescription discount card, a $408,000 state grant to buyers of foreclosed properties, and the settlement of the landfill theft case, pointing out the $250,000 insurance settlement along with $205,000 in restitution due from the perpetrators would draw the county about even as far as the value of the items stolen.

Regarding previous initiatives undertaken during the Pollitt era, the Wicomico Neighborhood Congress was now up to 44 local neighborhood organizations thanks to a “aggressive recruiting campaign,” and the Council of Physical Fitness and Healthy Living (announced in his 2008 State of the County Address) would finally be kicked off later this month. On a personal level, Pollitt’s commitment to being more fit resulted in a 30 pound weight loss and, “if I can get through this, anyone can.”

Rick concluded his speech with several things to consider.

In quoting Kennedy’s famous “Ask not…” speech, Rick opined that we had “gotten far away from that thinking,” remarking that during the recent public budget hearing the attitude was mainly in favor of cuts – except for their favorite things. We “can’t solve problems with a ‘me first’ attitude,” Pollitt warned.

In a nod to my concerns at that budget hearing, Pollitt told those assembled that economic development and job creation were much more difficult if quality of life issues weren’t addressed (which to me makes this a chicken-and-egg argument. One has to be there for the other to occur.) Citizenship is a heavy responsibility, and those who complain and do nothing otherwise should make the effort to get involved and become an informed, active citizenry. Pollitt pointed out that volunteering opportunities abound, even in areas Wicomico County normally involves itself with.

Afterward I had two questions for Rick; just curiosity for the most part. There was no concerted effort to place this address before Christmas for the first time, just possibly a better opportunity to spend time with family during the week between the holidays. And, doing my best Julie Brewington impersonation, I asked why this address wasn’t done during the evening. Basically the answer was that no one had made the suggestion before, and if Rick gave the address next year that would be considered.

Obviously, the way the next year progresses will have a drastic effect on whether Rick Pollitt will be giving a State of the County Address in 2010. Methinks the issues brought up today will be once again a strong component of the speech regardless of whoever delivers it.

Senate Republicans finally decide to FIGHT!

As the debate over nationalizing health care moved to the Senate, it was clear that the biggest procedural hurdle to its passage would be getting all 60 Democrats to agree on cloture as a means of starting and ending debate. Obviously, that meant some give-and-take on various portions of the bill, and a lot of that occurred behind closed doors as powerful Democrats and equally powerful lobbyists argued over the public option, paying for abortions, and how to fund the bill, among other things.

Once the bill finally made it to the Senate floor for debate, the Republican strategy seemed to be one of suggesting amendments to “improve” the bill, figuring these sacrificial amendments would be defeated while making the point that the bill was poorly conceived.

Some conservatives, though, grumbled that amending a bad bill to pay lip service to free-market principles wasn’t going to improve the system should the bill pass – the overall victory would belong to power-hungry Democrats and their special interest allies.

One conservative in that camp was Erick Erickson of RedState, who argued that because the minority in the Senate is much more powerful than their House counterparts, GOP Senators had a number of procedural methods at their disposal – IF they have the guts to use them.

In a brilliant, powerful article that quietly burned through the right-side blogosphere over the weekend, Erickson wrote not only a fiery call to action for Republican Senators, but a great rundown on some of the tools of delay at their disposal.

Please be sure to read this terrific article: FIGHT!

Lo and behold, this week Republicans started to do exactly that.

On Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont introduced a 767-page amendment to the Senate health care bill which, for all intents and purposes, converted the bill into a vehicle for single-payer nationalized health care. Generally amendments, regardless of size, have their required reading waived by unanimous consent – but in this case, Oklahoma’s Sen. Tom Coburn objected to this waiver and demanded the amendment be read. By one estimate this reading would’ve taken 38 hours, so not long into this process Vermont’s Bernie Sanders withdrew his amendment.

Notice Erickson’s influence–his fingerprints, if you will– on this? After the powerful impact he has had on both NY-23 and on behalf of Marco Rubio in Florida, it is not a stretch to give him such credit.

Obviously there may come a day when slash-and-burn tactics such as these are used to thwart items near and dear to a conservative majority, but as Erickson argued in his commentary: killing this bill is worth the fight. And utlimately, in the end those tactics will only go so far as the people will allow them to go.

Those that gathered on Capitol Hill Thursday to call on the Senate to reject the Democrats’ eventual plan for socialized medicine – many of whom were also veterans of the similar appeal to the House in October, the 9-12 Taxpayer Rally, and TEA Parties across the land – can only do so much from the outside. But the true leadership on this issue has to come from the inside, and Republican Senators should know this change in tactics is a beautiful thing indeed to all of us who believe our liberty is worth fighting for.

If this health care debacle is to pass, let it be known that the Republicans in the Senate fought it kicking, screaming, and with every weapon at their disposal. Polls clearly show that the people do not want Obamacare, so the minority should have no qualms about battling to the end.

It now looks like they may be willing to fight tooth and nail to kill socialized health care. If so, Erick Erickson has earned no small debt of gratitude.

A message for Virginians

Since I’m sitting here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, perhaps this means that Vince Haley at American Solutions attended the Tim Kaine School of Geography, but I suppose we could imagine him talking about Senators Mikulski and Cardin. Wait, no we can’t.

The fate of government run healthcare may be decided by your Senator, Jim Webb.

So far, many of the worst parts of the Senate’s health bill have been defeated, as the public option and Medicare expansion now look to be dead.

However, the Senate bill is still a government takeover of the health system, and Senator Webb must continue to hear from you and every other Virginian, that a government takeover of healthcare is unacceptable.

So you can stay informed and share information with your family, friends and neighbors, here are 5 facts that you should know about the current Senate healthcare bill (H.R. 3590):

Medicare Cuts. The bill would cut Medicare by $500 billion, and millions of seniors would lose access to Medicare Advantage plans.

Higher Health Insurance Premiums. As confirmed by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the bill would result in non-group premium increases of $300 per year for individuals and $2,500 per year for families.

Higher Healthcare Costs. The current Senate bill, like the one passed by Speaker Pelosi in the U.S. House, would increase healthcare costs, not lower them.

Lost Coverage. As confirmed by the CBO, up to 10 million people would lose their employer-provided healthcare coverage.

More and More Spending. Actually, $2.5 trillion worth, in its first 10 years of implementation, increasing our national debt even more.

If you think that these 5 facts added together would create a worse future for you and all Virginians, make sure you let Senator Webb know that he should vote against the health bill, including, and especially including, voting against the procedural motion known as cloture which will end debate on the bill.

The cloture motion to end debate is a critical procedural vote that requires 60 votes. If Senator Webb votes in favor of such a cloture motion vote, that would mean he is effectively voting in favor of the bill no matter if he votes against the bill on the vote for final passage (which requires only 51 votes for passage). With his support on cloture, he would allow this terrible bill to advance.

Don’t be fooled and please be sure that Senator Webb and his staff hear clearly from you on this point. If you don’t want Senator Webb to support this bill, be clear in your phone call to tell his staff that you want him to vote against the vote on the cloture motion to end debate.

Yeah, I guess we in Maryland could substitute Cardin and Mikulski for Webb, although I doubt it would do nearly as much good.

What’s wrong with Medicare Advantage? Oh, that’s right, that actually invokes choice into Medicare. And those CBO numbers the left likes to tout, well, what do they have to say about the numbers American Solutions cites? Is it a case of one set being right and the other being wrong? Must be that 10 years’ worth of taxation to pay for six years’ worth of service.

There’s no question both the House and Senate bills should be killed, and at this point I really don’t care if their death is quick and painless or gory and gruesome. Just do it.

Those pesky financial issues

You know, Governor Martin O’Malley could really do himself a lot of good if he’d just get to work and give up on that musical gig. Oh wait – Larry Hogan didn’t mention the band this time? Dude, you’re slipping.

Larry does make the obvious point here:

Today, the Board of Revenue Estimates announced another $77 million shortfall in the state budget. In response, Governor Martin O’Malley asked for another federal bailout.

“In April, O’Malley counted on a $2.5 billion federal bailout to pay for his out of control spending,” said Hogan. “Less than a year later, he wants to go back to the federal trough.”

“Has this man no shame?” asked Hogan. “O’Malley’s recklessness and lack of frugality would make even the most wasteful Wall Street tycoon blush. At least Wall Street is paying the money back. In Maryland, our hard earned tax dollars are just falling into O’Malley’s black hole.”

To balance the FY 2010 budget, Martin O’Malley took advantage of $2.5 billion in one time payments from the Federal Stimulus package. Maryland’s FY 2010 budget was about $1.2 billion higher than the FY 2009 budget.

“The federal government should have never been in the business of bailing out Wall Street and it shouldn’t be in the business of bailing out reckless spending in the states either,” said Hogan. “Taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook to pay for Martin O’Malley’s bloated budgets and reckless spending.”

“Martin O’Malley’s spending addiction and lack of foresight has put Maryland in its current predicament,” Hogan charged. “And, it’s Martin O’Malley’s lack of leadership that will keep our state from clawing its way out of this recession.”

“Marylanders deserve better. It’s time for a change,” Hogan concluded.

Larry Hogan has emerged as the leading challenger to O’Malley. He is a small business owner in Anne Arundel County who served in the Ehrlich Cabinet.

Did anyone honestly think O’Malley was going to give up the federal government credit card that easily? Making actual cuts in the state budget might just anger one of his favored special interests and we can’t have that!

It’s truly a sad situation we find ourselves in when the federal government’s share of the state budget exceeds that which comes from state funding. Is it any wonder that O’Malley and our General Assembly have to dance to whatever tune the federal government decides to play?

A true reformer is needed in Annapolis, but we also need a true reformer about 30 miles west along U.S. Route 50 as well. President Obama and Congress are only too happy to shovel money back to the states in the name of “stimulus” and in order to have the hard choices become necessary that spigot needs to be turned off.

Larry Hogan can solidify the votes he needs if he lets the voters know in no uncertain terms he’ll tell Washington “thanks, but no thanks” when it comes to stimulus money. He’d be an even better hero if he told the inside-the-Beltway crowd where they could stick it.

In the department of “bring it on”…

I just approved this comment from Chuck Cook on my recent post “A tale of two meetings” – nice to have Progressive Delmarva come over and play in my sandbox.

I’m pretty sure the AFP is having their discussion guided just fine. Bachmann, Ingraham, et al will be doing the “guiding”, with FreedomWorks in the rear to provide the appropriate amount of corporate support for the astro-turf machine. As for the health care forum, that was organized by us, the Talbot County Democrats, Dorchester County Dems, and doctors/students who we reached out to. The next forum will be at SU.

I love the battle of who’s got the larger base of “special interests” – seems to me the grassroots showed up outside the Capitol yesterday while the special interests were warm and toasty inside, speaking directly to Reid, Pelosi, et. al.

As for the real public outside the Beltway, it’s so bad for Chuck’s side that the Washington Post came out bemoaning fading public support for health care reform. (That’s why they wanted to ram it through over the summer; fortunately, Main Street America woke up to the possibility in time.)

I’d love to show up at a Democrat-sponsored health care forum, but I’ll have to make sure and show up early just to make sure I beat the purple shirts before they take up all the seats. Just let me know when it is, Chuck, and I’ll make sure to help get the word out. But don’t be surprised if the crowd’s not so friendly.