LIBERTY MOVEMENT vs THE ESTABLISHMENT

It's difficult these days to weed out the left-leaning moderates in the Republican Party, but it has to be done. There are several November elections that will set the pace for the 2010 (re)elections, and cutting the fat off the bone is critical.

One key indication, take note of who is backing who. For instance, the 2010 senate race in Florida is Charlie Crist who supported the Stimulus and now government run healthcare, and Marco Rubio who stands for true conservative values. In Congress, the people backing Crist are John McCain, Connie Mack, Lindsey Graham, Lamar Alexander, John Cornyn, Mel Martinez, Vern Buchanan, and both Diaz-Balart. No surprise there.

A little known key November election is in New York's 23rd Congressional District with far left liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava, and a challenger, coming out of no where, Doug Hoffman. Like Rubio, Hoffman is a good old fashioned true conservative, and, as a rookie, needs every bit of our support. He is just the opposite of the elites in Washington DC, having never run for office in his life. He doesn't like what he sees happening, and like so many Americans, has committed his life to getting our country back on track.

And who's endorsing this faux Republican Scozzafava? Newt Gingrich, John Boehner, and the NRCC, for reasons you will see later. I would have expected it from Gingrich, but Boehner is alarming. Looks like the elites is a private club.

Doug Hoffman for Congress here.

Eric Odom from Tax Day Tea Party writes:


Liberty Movement vs The Establishment
by Eric Odom, October 22, 2009

EDIT: I’ll be covering the special election on a constant basis throughout the remainder of the race.

If you haven’t been watching the political brawl happening in New York’s 23rd Congressional District… you should be.

The race has all the qualities needed to make it highly entertaining to track as a political junkie. But more importantly, as so many others have mentioned, the race represents a clear message being sent to the RNC.

And the message is simple… the liberty movement is not going to tolerate liberal Republicans anymore.

So here’s the background on the race.

This is a special election in place for November of 2009 to replace former GOP Rep. John McHugh. The special congressional election is happening because McHugh accepted President Obama’s Army Secretary position.

My understanding is that the district was a safe bet for a fresh GOP win. Or, at least, it was until far left liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava got the nod over conservative Doug Hoffman. Add the fact that there is Democrat, Bill Owens, in the race (with a lot of outside help and influence) and you suddenly have a problem.

Michelle Malkin has a great rundown about Dede Scozzafava and her dirty political record.

Scozzafava is an abortion rights advocate who favors gay marriage. It would be one thing if Scozzafava balanced that social liberalism with fiscal conservatism. But as a state assemblywoman, she voted for massive tax increases, Democratic budgets and a $180 million state bank bailout. She also supported the trillion-dollar federal stimulus package — which every House Republican voted against.

More troubling, Scozzafava in past elections has embraced the ballot line of the Working Families Party — a socialist outfit whose political DNA is intertwined with scandal-ridden ACORN. ACORN and the WFP have shared office space in New York City, Arkansas and Illinois. ACORN head Bertha Lewis, a close Scozzafava friend and political supporter, wears a second hat as vice chairman of the WFP. The WFP has been listed in ACORN documents dating back to 2000 as an “affiliate.”

Not only did the beltway establishment ally itself with Scozzafava, they basically threw Hoffman under the bus. In fact, the NRCC began setting up an attack machine to combat Hoffman’s conservative credentials.

Many others have mentioned this, but as a national tea party organizer, I feel the need to stress the point even further. This special election in New York should be highlighted as one of the best examples to date of how the establishment doesn’t get the sentiment boiling thanks to the Tea Party Movement.

We’re now seeing some ugly true colors float to the top. Take Newt Gingrich, for example… remember when Newt Gingrich joined in with the Tea Party Movement and openly endorsed our website at TaxDayTeaParty.com?

Here’s the video.

How typical. So Newt Gingrich, a beltway politician who once championed the ideas that fueled the Tea party Movement, is now betraying the movement by endorsing liberal Republican Scozzafava as opposed to helping out the guy who stands for what is right.

Fantastic.

I wonder what most of the hundreds of thousands of tea party activists who received Newt’s emails back in April would think if they knew he had joined Daily KOS, Nancy Pelosi and others on the left to try and help elect a big government thug get elected to Congress?

Let’s get back to the race for a moment…

It didn’t take more than a week or so for Scozzafava to begin spiraling out of control. Doug Hoffman penned a piece for Michelle Malkin that explains the events as they began to unfold.

It looks like Dede Scozzafava was feeling good about her chances in mid August. But then Hoffman ran on his conservative credentials and Dede was caught flat footed.

As the campaign rolled into October, Scozzafava began plummeting in polls and support was bailing at every corner. After that it jumped from failing to downright bizarre.

Micheal Patrick Leahy, an original founder and one of the key national organizers behind the Tax Day Tea Party, posted the details of the latest Dede campaign blunder on TCOT Report.

The campaign to win the special election for the 23rd Congressional District in upstate New York just got a little bit weirder this morning, if that’s possible. Liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava, feeling the heat from the surge in the polls of Conservative Doug Hoffman, held a press conference this morning outside his Watertown headquarters to challenge him to a debate.

This bizarre behavior came on a day when her highly controverisal campaign manager, Matt Burns, sent out a flurry of press releases on a wide range of topics. The entire country is focused on this election, and Burns appears to be a man completely undisciplined and out of control.

This incident follows an even more bizarre event where cops were called on a reporter who simply asked Scozzafava a couple of questions.

All of this madness even provoked the Washington Times to call out Newt Gingrich, John Boehner, and the NRCC over their pitiful endorsement of Scozzafava.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, House Minority Leader John Boehner and the National Republican Congressional Committee are now in the position of endorsing thugocracy. Unless they withdraw their endorsements and financial support for left-wing Republican Dede Scozzafava, they will effectively condone a blatant, unwarranted and somewhat frightening attack on a free press.

Oh… and have a listen to this… Newt Gingrich continues to defend his endorsement.

The problem with Newt’s statement is two fold.

1) He seems to have missed what the Tea Party Movement is all about
2) He doesn’t get that Dede might be worse than the Democrat in Congress

Why would he not just work with the Hoffman campaign to get a true conservative elected?

It’s simple. Newt Gingrich chose Party over principle. Which is exactly the kind of thinking that has the potential to destroy this country.

It’s time to draw the line in the sand. It’s time for tea party activists within the liberty movement to refuse to tolerate fakes within the movement.

And more importantly on the short term, I think it’s time we make our voices heard and show our support for Doug Hoffman.

UPDATE: According to Wikipedia, Dede Scozzafava was chosen by the eleven Republican Party county chairs of the 23rd congressional district. A reader pointed this out and suggested we might consider looking into these county chairs to find out who they are. The beltway heads certainly deserve criticism, but let’s not forget the gatekeepers who caused this problem to begin with.

UPDATE: Even Michigan “conservative” Rep Thaddeus McCotter has now endorsed the liberal candidate. This just keeps getting worse.

Additional Note: Several readers have brought to my attention a speech by John McManus of the John Birch Society. The half hour video puts forth some revealing arguments against Newt Gingrich and his conservative credentials. I’m not suggesting we go after Newt Gingrich, but I do think we need to take a new look at many of our self proclaimed “conservative leaders” and begin questioning their real motives.

Links:
-Failure of the local GOP base
-The GOP’s New York Fiasco
-Fred Thompson says vote for principles, not party

It looks like there will be constant coverage over at Dump Dede and The Other McCain.

10 FACTS EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SEN. BAUCUS’ COSTLY GOVT-RUN HEALTH CARE BILL

The Baucus Bill is more of the same old stuff, but a lot more dangerous. House Republican Leader, John Boehner, has just laid out 10 facts we need to know that the Democrats don't want to confuse us with anymore. Boehner finishes with the GOP Solution for Healthcare.

10 FACTS EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SEN. BAUCUS’ COSTLY GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE BILL

“This partisan bill is the wrong prescription during these tough economic times"
by John Boehner R-OH, September 23, 2009

As the Senate Finance Committee gets set to begin its second day examining Senator Max Baucus’ (D-MT) costly government run-health care bill, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) released a list of 10 facts every American should know about what he calls “the wrong prescription during these tough economic times:”

“This partisan bill is the wrong prescription during these tough economic times. It increases health care costs, cuts Medicare for seniors, imposes new taxes on struggling middle-class families and small businesses, and has a trillion-dollar price tag. This issue is too important to get wrong. That’s why Democrats should scrap their expensive plans and work with Republicans on a fiscally-responsible proposal that lowers health care costs and expands access for the American people.”

Here are the top 10 facts every American should know about Senator Baucus’ proposed government takeover of health care:

1. Medicare Cuts Mean Reduced Benefits, Fewer Choices for Seniors. The Baucus plan cuts Medicare by nearly $500 billion, slashing coverage millions of seniors depend on. These benefit cuts will ultimately eliminate choices currently enjoyed by seniors today. Doug Elmendorf, the head of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, told the Senate Finance Committee yesterday he “expected the Medicare Advantage plans to lose 2.7 million enrollees over the next decade” as a result of the Baucus plan.

2. Individual Mandate Results in Hefty Tax Increase for Millions of Americans. The Baucus plan mandates that every American buy health insurance or pay a hefty new tax to Washington of up to $1,900 per year. This new tax will take another $20 billion hard earned dollars from working families. Especially during a recession, this new tax will place another large burden on the family budget.

3. No Junk Lawsuit Reform to Reduce Health Care Costs. The Baucus plan includes only a “Sense of the Senate” with respect to the very pressing issue of junk lawsuit reform. Seriouschanges are needed to reduce costly,unnecessary defensive medicine practiced by doctorstrying to protect themselves from a feeding frenzy of trial lawyers. The Baucusplan misses an opportunity for real reform.

4. New Taxes Harm Small Businesses, Costs Jobs. The Baucus plan saddles small businesses that have more than 50 employees with a new tax of up to $199,600 per year if they do not provide health coverage to their employees. Census data compiled by the Small Business Administration, however, reveals that the Baucus “small business exemption” – for businesses with fewer than 50 employees – will still subject many small employers to new taxes and mandates. In fact, this so-called “exemption” could still subject 220,000 small businesses that employ 44% of all small business employees and 22% of the entire private sector workforce to the new taxes and mandates. The 220,000 small businesses targeted by the Baucus plan employ 26.4 million employees and provide those employees $982 billion in wages annually.

5. Higher Health Care Costs for Working Families. The Baucus plan would actually raise insurance premiums for working families, not lower them. In a letter to Chairman Baucus, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office stated, “premiums in the new insurance exchanges would tend to be higher than the average premiums in the current-law individual market…” Meanwhile, a recent study published in Health Affairs found that a government-run plan similar to the one being proposed in House Democrats’ bill could cause annual insurance premiums for a family of four to increase by more than $4,500.

6. $420 Billion in New Tax Increases on Families & Small Businesses. The Baucus plan includes a host of new taxes on American families and job creators. Taxes on individuals who are uninsured, taxes on employers that do not offer health insurance coverage, and taxes on health care products like wheelchairs and other medical devices and insurance are just some of the more than $420 billion in new tax increases included in the bill. At a time when families and small businesses are already struggling to make ends meet, new taxes of this magnitude would only further slow the economy and raise the cost of care for those patients who need it most.

7. Lower Wages and More Unemployment. The Baucus plan would impose a new $27 billion tax on employers, including small businesses, that cannot afford to provide health coverage or that don’t offer coverage. The effect of this type of tax, similar to a payroll tax increase, would ultimately fall squarely on workers in the form of lower wages or reduced employment. In fact, the Tax Policy Center concluded that “economists generally believe that the burden of payroll taxes is borne by workers in the form of lower wages, regardless of whether the tax is levied on the employer or the employee.” The tax proposed in the Baucus plan will likely have the same effect.

8. Higher Taxes on American Manufacturers. In order to find revenue to “pay for” his plan, Senator Baucus included massive new taxes on various industry segments in the health care sector. These new taxes include $17.2 billion tax on pharmaceutical manufacturers, a $30 billion tax on medical device manufacturers, and a $45 billion tax on health insurers. These massive tax increases on American manufacturers will be passed on to American families, and they will make the cost of health care more expensive. These tax increases will also serve as a major disincentive for innovation, capital investment and job creation. With some Senate Democrats clamoring for additional – and costly – subsidies, how many more tax increases will be added before it goes for a vote in the Senate? When will Democrats reveal what other tax increases they have in store for American working families and employers?

9. A Lack of Support From Senate Democrats. Key Senate Democrats have voiced concern about the Baucus plan, including Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV,) who said “there is no way” he would support it “unless it changes in the amendment process by vast amounts.” What’s more, Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) described the Medicare cuts in the Baucus plan as “intolerable” in remarks on the Senate floor last week, while Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) “complained the legislation would ask working Americans to commit as much as 13% of their income to buy basic insurance,” calling it a “real hit on middle-class families.”

10. Is the Baucus Plan Written in Invisible Ink? While House Democrats have marked up legislation in three different committees, the Senate Finance Committee is taking a different approach. The Committee is working off of a framework document that summarizes what they would like to do, but doesn’t offer specifics on how it would be done. That leaves big questions about just how this plan will work and doesn’t allow for a full and transparent debate on the plan. At a time when the American people are asking their legislators, “Have you read the bill?” the clear answer among Senate Finance Committee members will be “no.”

BONUS: House Republicans have offered fiscally responsible solutions to make health care more affordable and accessible for every American. Our proposals recognize the need to implement reforms that build on what works in health care, rather than replacing it with a one-size-fits-all government-run system.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM JOHN BOEHNER

We have some serious measures coming up for vote in the next couple of weeks that will seriously impact our lives. We all need to get involved in voicing our opinions with Congress by telephone, fax or email.

The two critical bills on the table now are Nationalized Health Care and Cap & Trade, and soon the second Stimulus Bill. This morning the House Republican Leader, John Boehner, recapped his concerns, and they ring loud & clear. Ask yourselves, "Where are the jobs?"


Boehner: Instead of Another “Stimulus,” Let’s Scrap Speaker Pelosi’s Job-Killing Energy Tax and Government Takeover of Health Care

WASHINGTON, DC - At a news conference this morning, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said if Democrats want to protect and create jobs, they should scrap job-killing legislation like Speaker Pelosi’s national energy tax and their government takeover of health care. These job-killing bills, during the middle of a recession and especially since the ‘stimulus’ isn’t working, will harm the economy and undermine efforts to help families and small businesses. Following are Boehner’s remarks at the news conference:

“All of this talk about a second stimulus bill has been rather interesting. I think it is an admission on the part of the Administration that, you know, their stimulus plan is not working. And so there are conversations about how we get to, how do we grow jobs. I found it interesting over the last couple of days to hear the Vice President, Vice President Biden, and the President mention the fact that they didn’t realize how difficult of an economic circumstance we were in. Now this is the greatest fabrication I’ve seen since I’ve been in Congress. I’ve sat through those meetings at the White House with the President and the Vice President.

“Trust me, there’s not one person that sat in those rooms that didn’t know how serious our economic crisis was. We tried to explain to the President that growing government was not going to get America back to work again. And that by allowing small businesses and families to keep more of what they earn – they are the real engine of economic growth in America. If we really are serious about creating jobs, we ought to allow American families and small businesses to keep more of what they earn.

“The second thing we should do if we’re concerned about growing jobs in America is that we should not pass this national energy tax, which is going to raise the taxes on all Americans – less money for them to spend – and millions of American jobs are going to get shipped overseas as a result. And if you look at their proposal on health care, again we’re talking about a $1.5 trillion tax increase – less money for the American people to spend on themselves, less money for American businesses – and if that’s not bad enough, we’re going to ruin our health care system and we’re going to tax employers if they don’t provide health insurance.

“So we are killing jobs with every proposal we see here. The first thing we should do here is practice the Hippocratic Oath. First, do no harm. Let’s get rid of the national energy tax idea, let’s get rid of the idea of raising taxes on this big government takeover of health care that will make it impossible to create jobs and it will cost Americans millions of additional jobs.”