The Sean Hannity Show - Health Care

ObamaCare

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:07:04 -0800

ObamaCare Sales Pitch

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:05:24 -0800

It is clear that this administration is engaging in a concerted effort to “sell” ObamaCare to the American people. What's amazing is that these people are delusional enough to believe that the problem with ObamaCare is the messaging and not the law itself. The fact remains that ObamaCare remains wildly unpopular. While Nancy Pelosi once said that we have to pass the bill so we can find out what's in it, the fact is that the more we find out about it, the less we like it!

Today at the White House the president is hosting a Mother's Day-themed event. The event specifically targets women and young people, trying to promote the benefits of ObamaCare to these groups. According to the Associated Press, “Obama will promote the benefits of the law for women, including free cancer screenings and contraceptives, and ask moms to urge their uninsured adult children to sign up for the health insurance 'exchanges' that open this fall.” The audience for this event, by the way, is said to include representatives from Planned Parenthood.

According to Bloomberg News, Obama has ordered any of his Cabinet officials to sell ObamaCare during any commencement speeches they may have been asked to make this graduation season: “To counter the criticism, the White House has told all Cabinet members and senior officials to use commencement speeches to drive home for graduating college students and their parents the benefits they gain from a provision of the law that allows young adults to stay on their family’s insurance plans until they turn 26.” It looks like they are stretching liberal indoctrination in higher education through to the bitter end (graduation day).

Meanwhile, we have Nancy Pelosi who continues to maintain a delusional allegiance to the law. Yesterday she praised ObamaCare as “remarkable”: "It's going to be something so remarkable in terms of prevention and wellness; it's going to be something so great in terms of technology and ... electronic medical records. It's not going to be just about ... good healthcare in our country, it's going to be about good health in our country." I wonder if Nancy Pelosi is aware of the Oregon study released last week related to Medicaid coverage? The well-researched study of Oregon's Medicaid expansion essentially concluded that access to health insurance doesn't actually make us any healthier!

Yesterday, a Democratic Congresswoman Janice Hahn of California tried to tell us that ObamaCare will help improve marriage in this country. Wow, who knew?

But it's not just Obama, administration officials or Democrat politicians trying to sell ObamaCare; The federal government is also using your tax dollars to sell the American public on the law. According to the Washington Examiner: “Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Thursday that HHS will spend $150 million to teach people how to enroll in the Obamacare exchanges, after a Democratic senator scolded her for running a poor 'public information campaign.'” We know that person to be Democrat Senator Max Baucus, who labeled the implementation as a “train wreck.” A train wreck, indeed, and at your expense.

Plan B

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:13:29 -0800

Wednesday May 01 2013

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:13:08 -0800

ObamaCare Implementation “Fine”

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:11:12 -0800

Yesterday during his press conference, the Anointed One gave us a long-winded response on the issue of ObamaCare. When faced with the fact that one of the chief Democrat architects of ObamaCare, Senator Max Baucus, has labeled its implementation as a “train-wreck,” Obama did what he usually does: Filibuster, blame, lecture, and rationalize without actually answering the question.

The latest polls show that 42% of Americans don't even realize that ObamaCare is the law of the land. Just 35% of Americans who apparently are aware of ObamaCare actually support it, and 53% of Americans want its implementation blocked or repealed altogether. This is after the administration has spent or will spend millions of your tax dollars on a PR campaign to sell ObamaCare to the American public.

It is clear that the Obama administration thinks that the problem is that Americans don't understand the law, not the law itself. Yesterday during his press conference, Obama said that many Americans are already experiencing the positive effects of ObamaCare, even if they don't know it.

What Americans also don't know, are the impending ObamaCare taxes that are about to hit them. Americans for Tax Reform lays out some of the more destructive ObamaCare tax increases that you will be paying next year on your 2013 tax returns – The surtax on investment income, Medicare payroll tax increase, medical devise tax, high medical tax bills, flexible spending accounts. Then comes 2014 when the highly disputed individual mandate goes into effect, penalizing you (taxing you) if you don't have health insurance. This also effects employers as well.

All of this is coming down the pipeline, yet we are somehow supposed to be grateful that the administration simplified its application form for health insurance from 21 pages to five pages for individuals or 12 pages for families? Wow, we are all impressed. I'm sure the three million Americans whom the CBO predicts will lose their health insurance in 2014 because of ObamaCare are eternally grateful that at least the form they will be forced to fill out is shorter. As for the lucky people who will get to keep their health insurance, they sure will be paying more for it. From the Wall Street Journal:

According to consultants from Oliver Wyman (who wrote on the issue in the January issue of Contingencies, the magazine of the American Academy of Actuaries), around six million of the 19 million people with individual health policies are going to have to pay more—and this even after accounting for the government subsidies offered under the law. For example, single adults age 21-29 earning 300% to 400% of the federal poverty level will be hit with an increase of 46% even after premium assistance from tax credits.

In the end, there is no doubt that this law and its implementation have been and will continue to be a disaster. Some believe that ObamaCare will eventually collapse under its own weight, and some even believe this to be by design in order to put in place a single-payer system, which is what some liberals have wanted all along. I'm not saying I believe that motivation to be the case, but we do need to think about what can be put in place if and when this law collapses.

Needless to say, ObamaCare will be a huge albatross around the necks of Democrats going into the 2014 election, no matter how much they try and pull away from it or pin the blame for its failure on others.

Tuesday April 30 2013

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:08:50 -0800

Lila Rose

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:39:11 -0800

Outrageous: Abortion Horrors Revealed

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:37:54 -0800

Lila Rose, the president of Live Action, has revealed disturbing and gruesome undercover videos involving abortion clinics in New York and Washington DC. These videos surfaced on the heels of the Gosnell trial, which was the cause of much firestorm … unless you rely on the mainstream media for your news, in which case you didn't hear much about it.

AUDIO: Listen to Sean's interview with Lila Rose

In the first video from an abortion clinic in the Bronx, you can hear the counselor actually tell the pregnant woman: “If it comes out, then it comes out … Flush it. Put it in a bag or something and bring it to us.”

In the case of the Washington DC abortion doctor, he essentially tells a woman that he would not offer any assistance to a baby who was born alive: “Let’s say you went into labor, the membranes ruptured, and you delivered before we got to the termination part of the procedure here, you know? Then we would do things — we would — we would not help it. We wouldn’t intubate. It would be … a person, a terminal person in the hospital, let’s say, that had cancer, you know? You wouldn’t do any extra procedures to help that person survive. Like ‘do not resuscitate’ orders. We would do the same things here.”

This doctor is DC, Cesare Santangelo, went on to describe the group that recorded the conversation “terrorists.”

Affordable care

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 10:22:25 -0800

ObamaCare Costs More, Covers Less

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 10:20:42 -0800

Surprise! ObamaCare is turning out to be the expensive disaster that conservatives predicted. Unless Republicans are committed in their efforts to repeal ObamaCare, it is you, the hard-working taxpayers, who will ultimately bear the burden of these costs, along with declining quality of care. Such is always the result of a socialist utopia.

There is a reason why Nancy Pelosi famously said that we needed to pass the bill in order to find out what's in it. That's what she told to swaths of uninformed voters, who were blinded by the idea of cheaper, universal healthcare for all. But for those of us who studied the bill and are stewards of history, we knew how this was going to play out. It was exactly like this. Here are some of the more outrageous highlights of the latest we've come to learn about ObamaCare. These stories are not from right-wing, conservative news outlets. Many of these stories are from the Washington Post, the Politico, etc …

Obama Trims Details on Health Law as Exchange Cost Rises

The $1.3 trillion U.S. health-care system overhaul is getting more expensive and will initially accomplish less than intended. Costs for a network of health-insurance exchanges, a core part of the Affordable Care Act, have swelled to $4.4 billion for fiscal 2012 and 2013 combined, and will reach $5.7 billion in 2014, according to the budget President Barack Obama yesterday sent to Congress. That spending would be more than double initial projections, even though less than half the 50 U.S. states are participating.

Obamacare expanded health access. Now supporters want another bill to tackle costs.

[The Partnership for Sustainable Health Care] wants to start putting political muscle behind the ideas that already exist — and, after it does that pass legislation that would control health care costs in a way the Affordable Care Act doesn’t … While all support the Affordable Care Act, they tend to agree that additional legislation will be necessary to control health care costs.

Setup costs mount for ObamaCare exchanges

Setting up the central piece of President Obama's healthcare law has cost the administration more than twice as much as originally intended. The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) said in budget documents Wednesday that it expects to spend $4.4 billion by the end of this year on grants to help states set up new insurance exchanges. HHS had estimated last year that the grants would cost $2 billion.

Obamacare architect Rockefeller: It's 'beyond comprehension'

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller, one of the towering architects of Obamacare, on Tuesday openly criticized program managers for not moving quickly enough to build the system, warning that if it gets off to a bumpy start it will just get worse. Decrying the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as way too complex, he warned the acting Medicare director that Obamacare is "so complicated and if it isn't done right the first time, it will just simply get worse."

HHS seeks Obamacare funds — but is ready to scramble

The White House requested $1.5 billion more for the health law implementation in its budget Wednesday, but health officials know they’re not likely to get it. As past funding requests have been spurned, Health and Human Services officials contend they’ve been able to cobble together the funds and won’t miss the Oct. 1 start of open enrollment in exchanges. Any big delay, or major hitches would be a huge blow to Obamacare and reopen the law to political warfare before the 2014 mid-term elections.

Sebelius: ObamaCare rollout tougher than White House expected

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Monday that she did not anticipate how complicated implementing the president's signature healthcare law would be … Speaking to students at the Harvard School of Public Health, Sebelius said implementation had been hampered both by the law's slow roll out and red-state governors and legislators who have rejected state-run insurance exchanges.

Premiums could rise under healthcare law, Sebelius concedes

The Obama administration acknowledged Tuesday that some people could see their premiums rise under the healthcare reform law. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told reporters that "there may be a higher cost associated with getting into that market" where "folks will be moving into a really fully insured product for the first time." The comment was among the first from the Obama administration to reveal a degree of uncertainty about the impact of the law on insurance premiums.

High-Risk Pools and Reinsurance: Potential Shock Waves to Insurers

Due to poorer health, higher cost services and pent up demand for health care, there are numerous concerns about high-risk and expensive individuals. These are people who were previously uninsured or enrolled in high-risk plans that will soon be covered by exchanges. Further, there is concern that premiums could skyrocket in 2014 if the unhealthy disproportionately move to exchanges for coverage while younger, healthier individuals slowly and cautiously join.

The White House wants to reverse $500 million in Medicaid cuts

The White House wants to reverse $500 million in cuts to the Medicaid program meant to start in 2014, aiming to ensure that states have adequate funds to assist those that remain uninsured under the Affordable Care Act.

Smoking Is a ‘Preexisting Condition’

The District of Columbia’s Obamacare czars — the board that sets rules for the phony insurance marketplace, or “exchange,” that the law creates — have decided that henceforth insurers shall be forbidden by law to charge smokers higher rates than non-smokers. Smoking, as it turns out, “is a preexisting medical condition,” according to Dr. Mohammad Akhter, the chairman of the D.C. Health Exchange Board.

Ex-Felons Are About to Get Health Coverage

Newly freed prisoners traditionally walk away from the penitentiary with a bus ticket and a few dollars in their pockets. Starting in January, many of the 650,000 inmates released from prison each year will be eligible for something else: health care by way of Medicaid, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. A sizeable portion of the nearly 5 million ex-offenders who are on parole or probation at any given time will also be covered.

Some Small Businesses Opt for the Health-Care Penalty

Small-business owners across the U.S. are bracing for the health-care law that kicks in next year, fearing it will increase the cost of providing insurance to employees. But Rick Levi, a business owner in Des Moines, Iowa, is among those considering the government's escape hatch: paying a penalty to avoid the law's "employer mandate." Under the new law, he will have to offer insurance to all of his 102 full-time employees starting in January. Assuming all of them take the coverage, Mr. Levi says the cost of premiums could exceed $500,000 … He says it makes more sense to drop insurance entirely and pay a penalty of about $144,000.

ObamaCare takes friendly fire

Delays in implementing popular pieces of ObamaCare are hurting it with Democrats … Democrats complained this week about a one-year delay in a key program designed to help small businesses — a central selling point for the healthcare law that now won’t be in place when voters head to the polls next year … Democrats are also complaining more openly about other implementation delays. And the substance of the law itself isn’t immune from bipartisan criticism — 33 Senate Democrats cast a non-binding vote last month to repeal the law’s tax on medical devices, saying it’s a threat to innovation that could raise costs for consumers.

How ObamaCare Blocks Reform From Taxes To Immigration

ObamaCare doesn't just roil the health care system. It cre ates major obstacles to tax, entitlement and immigration reform. The health law makes bridging the parties' differences on these divisive issues that much harder …

ObamaCare: Three Years and Counting Part II

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:13:11 -0800

The unraveling of ObamaCare has been rapid, though not unexpected for those of us who have been warning about this for years. You know it's bad when you have the liberal Obama-Mania media, Democrats AND unions pointing to the failures of ObamaCare.

Let's start with the Obama-Mania media. Just this week we've had The New York Times and the Washington Post publishing stories highlighting how small businesses will have a difficult time coping with ObamaCare. This is nothing new to you and I, who have been warning about the effects of ObamaCare on all businesses, including small businesses, since before the bill even passed. But I guess it is better late than never that even the liberal media is forced to cover how this will impact American business owners. In fact, according to a new study from the International Franchise Association, “Over one-third of the 9.1 million full-time jobs among America's diverse business franchises could be cut back or eliminated by Obamacare as small businesses struggle to maintain profitability while coughing up money to pay for Washington-mandated health care coverage.” That's over 3 million full-time workers who could be impacted. Just a few weeks ago, the Obama administration was warning us of apocalyptic doom if we passed sequestration, which they (wrongly) estimated would cut 750,000 jobs. I wonder why the administration is suddenly silent about the potential loss of 3.2 million jobs?

Then we have Democrats who now suddenly feel the freedom to complain about parts of ObamaCare that they don't like, after many of them were complicit in passing the bill itself. The Politico noted last week, “Democrats are slowly becoming more vocal about small parts of the law that they want changed or eliminated — device taxes, a Medicare board, even kids’ dental coverage, to name a few.” Last night, the Senate voted on a non-binding resolution to amend the controversial medical devise tax, which many lawmakers (including Democrats) didn't like. But this was only a symbolic vote. The medical device tax will stay in place unless the whole law is repealed or they can find ways to replace the funds generated by the tax. This is absurd.

Finally we have the labor unions, which enthusiastically pushed for ObamaCare. Now we are getting reports like this one from the Wall Street Journal: “Union leaders say many of the law's requirements will drive up the costs for their health-care plans and make unionized workers less competitive … A handful of unions say they already have examined whether it makes sense to shift workers off their current plans and onto private coverage subsidized by the government. But dropping insurance altogether would undermine a central point of joining a union, labor leaders say.” Gee, now they tell us.

What is absolutely clear is that ObamaCare is a disaster. What is less clear is what we are to do about it. Yours truly is making some headlines today for my discussion last night on Hannity with Ann Coulter. I maintain that Republicans in Washington need to be willing to go as far as to shut down our government in order to demand a repeal and replacement for ObamaCare. That's how strongly I feel about its negative impact on our country. However, Ann Coulter doesn't agree. She believes that this would hurt Republicans and their chances of winning elections in 2014 and 2016. She says that through elections, Republicans would then be able to make changes. Who do you think is right on how to handle ObamaCare?

Exclusive: Paul Ryan on 'Hannity'

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 16:00:38 -0800

Yesterday Sean caught up with Congressman Ryan at a campaign stop in Carnegie, Pennsylvania.

Sean asked Ryan what he and Mitt Romney discussed before agreeing to be his vice presidential nominee. "it was one of the most moving conversations I've ever had with anybody. He told me where he thought the country was headed, how we got to get back on track, his life story, what is in his heart. And then be basically said, you share my values, and you have the kind of experience I'm going to need to help me fix this country's problems. Our experiences complement each other quite well. And we applied the same principles, founding principles, to the problems of the day. And he basically said, let's go fix this country," Ryan told Sean.

Ryan also explained how he's dealing with the viscous attacks from the Obama campaign.

Friday June 29 2012

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 13:59:10 -0800

Mark Levin,

Thursday June 28 2012

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 10:57:18 -0800

Jay Sekulow, Newt Gingrich, David Limbaugh,

Supreme Court upholds individual mandate, ObamaCare survives

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 09:09:12 -0800

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld nearly all of President Obama's health care overhaul, in a landmark ruling that will have sweeping consequences for the economy, the election and America's health care system.

AUDIO: Listen to Sean's take on ObamaCare ruling

In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled as constitutional the so-called individual mandate requiring most Americans to obtain health insurance starting in 2014.

The ruling is a victory for the president, ensuring for now that his signature domestic policy achievement remains mostly intact. It also ensures that the law will play a prominent role in the general election campaign, as Republican candidate Mitt Romney vows to repeal the law if elected.

Obama is expected to speak publicly about the ruling later in the day.

Chief Justice John Roberts, who was appointed during a Republican administration, joined the four left-leaning justices on the bench in crafting the majority decision.

"The Affordable Health Care Act survives largely unscathed," Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of those justices, declared at the end of the reading, claiming the "setbacks" going forward will be "temporary blips, not permanent obstructions."

The ruling relied on a technical explanation of how the individual mandate could be categorized. Roberts, in the opinion, said the mandate could not be upheld under the Constitution's Commerce Clause. However, it could be upheld under the government's power to tax.

"The Affordable Care Act is constitutional in part and unconstitutional in part The individual mandate cannot be upheld as an exercise of Congress's power under the Commerce Clause," Roberts wrote. "That Clause authorizes Congress to regulate interstate commerce, not to order individuals to engage it. In this case, however, it is reasonable to construe what Congress has done as increasing taxes on those who have a certain amount of income, but choose to go without health insurance. Such legislation is within Congress's power to tax."

Roberts stressed that the decision does not speak to the merits of the law. "We do not consider whether the act embodies sound policies. That judgment is entrusted to the nation's elected leaders," he said.

The ruling did rein in one element of the law -- the expansion of Medicaid across the country to take in millions of low-income Americans. The opinion allows Washington to offer more funding to states to expand the program, but says the federal government cannot penalize states for not participating in the new program by withholding existing Medicaid funds.

Democrats, many of whom were bracing for the court striking down the mandate, celebrated the decision Thursday.

Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., told Fox News that the ruling "gives us the opportunity to re-sell the the bill, which we did not do before."

But Republicans vowed to re-double their campaign to repeal the still-controversial law.

"Today's ruling underscores the urgency of repealing this harmful law in its entirety," House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement. "Republicans stand ready to work with a president who will listen to the people and will not repeat the mistakes that gave our country ObamaCare."

Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was thought to be the swing vote on the decision, joined the minority in describing the whole law as invalid.

Justices Class Picture

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:39:53 -0800

POTUS v. SCOTUS

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:33:09 -0800

It has become evident that President Obama has a history of disrespecting the SCOTUS. After yesterday’s joint press conference, Obama brought into play an issue which he described as “conservative concerns about judicial activism.” He uses the phrase as an intimidation tactic in order to ensure the Supreme Court will rule in favor of the health care overhaul. If not, he calls it “judicial activism” and credits Conservatives who have been unhappy when SCOTUS rules were not in their favor.

“I’m confident the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected congress.” Sure Mr. President, but that majority consisted of primarily Democrats before what Sean refers to as ‘the Conservative victory’ of 2010 at which point the House of Representatives went from being controlled by Democrats, to a Republican majority.

So, a Supreme Court decision that President Obama disapproves of is ‘activist’ but what he does approve of are ‘constitutional?’ “I just remind conservative commentators that for years what we heard is the biggest problem on the bench was judicial activism or a lack of judicial restraint. Unelected group of people would somehow overturn a dually constituted and passed law.”

Speaking of ‘judicial activism,’ let us not forget that President Obama has had the pleasure of electing two judges to the Supreme Court, one of which, Justice Sotomayor, was an integral part of drafting Obamacare. Justice Sotomayor refuses to remove herself from the pending Supreme Court healthcare mandate decision, and Obama has not asked her to, despite her undoubtedly bias views.

Not only that, but did our President forget about the purpose of the three branches of government? He is the Executive branch; he signed Obamacare…now it is time for the judicial branch to assess its constitutionality.

This little rift, however, is not the first time our President has been disrespectful to our nation’s highest court. Two years ago during his State of the Union Address, Obama again insulted our Supreme Court in a reference to the Citizens United Campaign Finance decision. “The supreme court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests,” he said. Justice Alito was clearly seen shaking his head in dissent and disbelief, mouthing ‘that’s not true.’

**ADDED BREAKING NEWS: At roughly 4:30pm News broke that a federal court of appeals is “ordering the Justice Department to answer by Thursday whether the Obama Administration believes that the courts have the right to strike down a federal law.”

-A 3 panel (all Republican) US Court of Appeals Judges for the 5th Circuit are coming back swinging after Obama’s comments yesterday (discussed above).

CBS News reports that the three-judge appellate court is responding to the comment that overturning the law would be “unprecedented” because “the Supreme Court since 1803 has asserted the power to strike down laws it interprets as unconstitutional. The three-judge appellate court appears to be asking the administration to admit that basic premise…The panel ordered the Justice Department to submit a three-page, single-spaced letter by noon Thursday addressing whether the Executive Branch believes courts have such power, the lawyer said.”

Looks like President Obama and Eric Holder have a busy few days ahead of them as they figure out how to respond.

Tuesday April 03 2012

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:09:17 -0800

Jay Sekulow, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich,

Wednesday March 28 2012

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:00:16 -0800

Susan Estrich, Jay Sekulow,

What Obama really thinks about the Constitution

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:18:48 -0800

Sean Hannity can now add art-collector to his resume! Artist Jon McNaughton has been causing a stir for his paintings of President Obama. The painting seen here seems to have been the final installation that caused a media frenzy.

Mr. McNaughton joined Sean on his tv program last night, after which Sean decided to give him a call and offer to buy the painting. Sean, known for his generosity, is offering to “loan” out the painting to museums.

We are hoping the Brooklyn Museum of Art shows interest, perhaps to offer a little fair and balanced atmosphere after they have held pieces of art including the “Holy Virgin Mary” painting depicting Mary as a black woman with exposed breasts made from elephant dung, surrounded by female genitalia cut out from pornographic magazines.

Or perhaps the infamous “A Fire in my Belly” video which depicts Jesus on a crucifix surrounded by crawling ants. We certainly hope the museum will embrace McNaughton’s painting of President Obama burning the Constitution, as staunch defenders of freedom of speech.

In this McNaughton’s picture, the president’s right hand is holding our country’s founding document, while his left hand points to the flames.

McNaughton released a YouTube video detailing the painting. In the video he narrates: “This is my pledge. I pledge allegiance to the United States of America and not to an ideology that could never stand: one nation – under socialism – divisive with no liberty or justice for anyone.”

Learn more at: mcnaughtonart.com

ObamaCare protests

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:11:28 -0800

Tuesday March 27 2012

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:28:02 -0800

Monday March 26 2012

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:46:46 -0800

ObamaCare costs continue to rise

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 09:08:50 -0800

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office issued a new estimate this week of the cost of providing insurance coverage to Americans under ObamaCare. The estimated gross cost of providing coverage to uninsured people will be much higher than the CBO predicted just one year ago. Why? Fox Business host Stuart Varney and Dr. Lamont Hill joined Sean to discuss skyrocketing cost of ObamaCare.

"This is going to get worse," said Varney. "It's going to cost a great deal more. They're not even factoring in a recent Harvard study that shows the shift of 30 million Americans onto Medicaid will actually cost one trillion dollars more over the next ten years than the government originally said it would. This is going to be much more expensive then we were ever lead to believe. I guess that's why Obama doesn't talk about it much anymore," Varney added.

Monday January 02 2012

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:02:16 -0800

Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum,

Kagan to Tribe on Day Obamacare Passed: ‘I Hear They Have the Votes

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:59:49 -0800

By Terence P. Jeffrey

(CNSNews.com) - On Sunday, March 21, 2010, the day the House of Representatives passed President Barack Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, then-Solicitor General Elena Kagan and famed Supreme Court litigator and Harvard Law Prof. Laurence Tribe, who was then serving in the Justice Department, had an email exchange in which they discussed the pending health-care vote, according to documents the Department of Justice released late Wednesday to the Media Research Center, CNSNews.com's parent organization, and to Judicial Watch.

“I hear they have the votes, Larry!! Simply amazing,” Kagan said to Tribe in one of the emails.

The Justice Department released a new batch of emails on Wednesday evening as its latest response to Freedom of Information Act requests filed by CNSNews.com and Judicial Watch. Both organizations filed federal lawsuits against DOJ after the department did not initially respond to the requests. CNSNews.com originally filed its FOIA request on May 25, 2010--before Elena Kagan's June 2010 Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

The March 2010 email exchange between Kagan and Tribe raises new questions about whether Kagan must recuse herself from judging cases involving the health-care law that Obama signed--and which became the target of legal challenges--while Kagan was serving as Obama's solicitor general and was responsible for defending his administration’s positions in court disputes.

According to 28 USC 455, a Supreme Court justice must recuse from “any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” The law also says a justice must recuse anytime he has “expressed an opinion concerning the merits of the particular case in controversy” while he “served in governmental employment.”

In response to questions from CNSNews.com, Prof. Tribe said on Thursday that other than the references in his email exchange with Kagan on March 21, 2010, he never had any communications with Elena Kagan while she was solicitor general relating to pending or enacted health-care legislation or actual or anticipated health-care related litigation. Tribe also said he sees no reason to believe 28 USC 455 would require Kagan’s recusal from cases involving PPACA.

The March 21, 2010 email exchange between Kagan and Tribe was started by Tribe who addressed an email to Kagan at her Justice Department email account. Tribe also copied this message to another individual, whose name has been redacted from the version of the document DOJ released to the MRC.

The subject line on Tribe’s email reads: “fingers and toes crossed today!”—an apparent reference to the unusual Sunday vote on the health-care bill that would occur later that day in the House. In the email, Tribe reminded Kagan of a dinner meeting they had to postpone and suggested they reschedule it.

Kagan responded to the message in a return email that is addressed solely to Tribe. The subject line on this Kagan-to-Tribe email is: “Re: fingers and toes crossed today!”

Kagan punctuated the first sentence of this email to Tribe with two exclamation marks: “I hear they have the votes, Larry!! Simply amazing.”

She then proposed they reschedule their dinner meeting sometime after March 31: “Let’s go wherever you want: I think you mentioned a place in the Mandarin, which would be great. Give me any dates you want after March 31.” Kagan then mentions another person (whose name is redacted) who “expressed an interest in joining as well.”

Tribe responded by return email, carbon copying an individual or individuals whose names have been redacted by the Justice Department. This message was sent at 5:06 p.m.

“So health care is basically done!” Tribe wrote to Kagan in this message. “Remarkable. And with the Stupak group accepting the magic of what amounts to a signing statement on steroids!”

The “Stupak group” is a reference to then-Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), who led a group of House Democrats who had indicated they would not vote for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act if it permitted federal funds to pay for abortions. Stupak and his allies decided to vote for the bill, even though no additional language would be added to it prohibiting abortion funding, after President Obama agreed to sign an executive order the administration said would prevent federal funding from going to abortions.

Tribe’s email then goes on to discuss the proposed dinner. “Re dinner, I now remember the place you’d suggested back in December: Founding Farmers. I still like the name and don’t recall why I’d thought the place in the Mandarin would be worth trying. So how about our going to Founding Farmers with you and [name redacted]?”

The next email, marked as sent at 11:00 p.m. (23:00:58) is from someone whose name is redacted. This person says he or she “would be available on April 7 or 13.”

At 11:04 p.m., Elena Kagan sends an email to herself Tribe, an assistant at the Justice Department and someone whose name is redacted. “I can do April 12,” she said.

That same day—March 21, 2010—as PPACA was passing the House, Kagan had a separate email exchange with her top deputy Neal Katyal.

This email chain started At 6:11 p.m., when associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli sent a message to a group of DOJ lawyers, including Katyal, notifying them that there was going to be a meeting the next day to plan for the litigation expected to challenge PPACA. DOJ released this email to the Media Research Center earlier this year, after MRC sued seeking to force DOJ to comply with CNSNews.com's FOIA request seeking documents related to Kagan and the issue of recusal and related to health-care legislation and litigation.

The subject line on Perrelli’s 6:11 p.m email was: “Health care litigation meeting.”

“It sounds like we can meet with some of the health care policy team tomorrow at 4 to help us prepare for litigation,” Perelli wrote in this email. “It has to be over there. Can folks send me the waves info (full name, SSN, DOB) of everyone that should attend as soon as possible? WH wants it tonight, if possible. I know we won’t get everyone’s in tonight.

“Also,” Perrelli continued, “we need to think about the key issues/question for the agenda. [Language redacted] tops my list, but I know there are others.”

At 6:18, Katyal forwarded this email to Kagan. “This is the first I’ve heard of this,” Katyal told Kagan. “I think you should go, no? I will, regardless, but feel like this is litigation of singular importance.”

One minute later—at 6:19 p.m.—Kagan responded to Katyal: “What’s your phone number?”

Three minutes after that, Katyal sent Kagan his phone number and the email chain ended.

On Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, CNSNews.com sent Prof. Larry Tribe the PDF the Justice Department had provided to the Media Research Center with the email exchange that Tribe had had with Kagan when they were both serving in the Justice Department on March 21, 2010.

CNSNews.com asked Tribe five questions, which he answered in writing. Here are CNSNews.com’s questions with Prof. Tribe’s responses:

CNSNews.com: “Did you ever verbally mention or discuss pending or enacted health-care legislation, or actual or anticipated health-care related litigation, with Elena Kagan when she was solicitor general or does this March 21, 2010 email exchange represent the entirety of your communications to her on those matters during her tenure in that office?”

Tribe: “No. I never ‘mention[ed] or discuss[ed] pending or enacted health-care legislation, or actual or anticipated health-care related litigation, with Elena Kagan when she was solicitor general,’ and ‘this March 21, 2010 email exchange represent[s] the entirety of [my] communications to her on those matters during her tenure in that office.’”

CNSNews.com: “Did she ever verbally mention or discuss pending or enacted health-care legislation, or actual or anticipated health-care related litigation, with you when she was solicitor general or does this March 21, 2010 email exchange represent the entirety of her communications to you on those matters during her tenure in that office?”

Tribe: “No. Elena Kagan never ‘mention[ed] or discuss[ed] pending or enacted health-care legislation, or actual or anticipated health-care related litigation, with [me] when she was solicitor general,’ and ‘this March 21, 2010 email exchange represent[s] the entirety of her communications to [me] on those matters during her tenure in that office.’”

CNSNews.com: “If you did verbally mention or discuss pending or enacted health-care legislation, or actual or anticipated health-care related litigation, with Elena Kagan when she was solicitor general, what specifically did you say and what specifically did she say?”

Tribe: “Not applicable. We had no other exchanges on those matters, and the emails in question focused on a dinner engagement we were trying to set up.”

CNSNews.com: “If she did verbally mention or discuss pending or enacted health-care legislation, or actual or anticipated health-care related litigation, with you when she was solicitor general, what specifically did she say and what specifically did you say?”

Tribe: “Not applicable. See answer to Question 3.”

CNSNews.com: “Do you believe any of the provisions of 28 USC 455 require Justice Elena Kagan to recuse herself from cases involving the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act?”

Tribe: “No. I do not have any reason to believe that any of the provisions of 28 USC 455 require Justice Elena Kagan to recuse herself from cases involving the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.”

On July 13, 2010, during her confirmation process, the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee sent Kagan a letter asking her a series of questions probing her possible involvement in health care legislation or litigation during her time as solicitor general. The senators asked: “Have you ever been asked about your opinion regarding the underlying legal or constitutional issues related to any proposed health care legislation, including but not limited to Pub. L. No. 111-148, or the underlying legal or constitutional issues related to potential litigation resulting from such legislation?”

The sentors also asked Kagan: “Have you ever offered any views or comments regarding the underlying legal or constitutional issues related to any proposed health care legislation, including but not limited to Pub. L. No. 111-148, or the underlying legal or constitutional issues related to potential litigation resulting from such legislation?”

Kagan’s written response to both questions was: “No.”

Elena Kagan with Obama

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:53:47 -0800

Bachmann Attacks Perry Over HPV Mandate

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:11:15 -0800

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) went after Rick Perry during last night's GOP debate for his 2007 executive order mandating that young girls in Texas be vaccinated against HPV, the most common sexually transmitted disease and one that can lead to cervical cancer.

"To have innocent little 12-year-old girls be forced to have a government injection through an executive order is just flat out wrong. That should never be done. That's a violation of a liberty interest," she said. Bachmann joined Sean on the NewsMaker Hotline to discuss the debate and her attack on Perry. She also argued that Perry had a conflict-of-interest because one of his top staffers was a lobbyist for Merck, the drug company that manufactured the vaccine.

“Perry himself admitted it was a mistake and now the circumstances behind this that his chief of staff was a lobbyist for Merck.” Bachmann was pleased with the outcome of the debate. “I think it was handled fairly and professional ly. I think we’re beginning to see the layers peel off and people are beginning to find out who has been the consistent conservative in the race,” Bachmann added.

One child per family is OK with VP Biden

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 08:51:58 -0800

While speaking in front of a Chinese audience at Sichuan University Vice President Joseph Biden expressed an understanding of China’s One Child Policy. That’s right people the pro-choice Vice President of The United States Joe Biden said that he “fully” understood the controversial one-child population control measure currently being forced upon the Chinese people. This is truly fascinating to me, because frankly Mr. Vice President I do not understand this policy at all.

Now I think the world is aware that Vice President Biden has created something of a name for himself with his uncanny ability to insert his foot into his mouth at the worst moments. This statement made yesterday is no exception. I am not sure if Vice President Biden thought criticizing the economic future of the One Child Policy would leave a stronger impact on his Chinese audience, but it’s obvious to me that a U.S. official should be attacking this barbaric policy for its obvious infringement on basic human rights not its economic sustainability.

Instead of denouncing China’s state-mandated one-child system, which includes forced abortions and sterilizations and hefty fines for non-compliance, Biden chose to focus on the economic problems this policy presents. What he really should have done was not bring it up since the purpose of his visit, and speech, was to assuage fears over America’s downgraded credit rating in a country that possesses $1.2 trillion in U.S. Treasury holdings. Here’s how our Vice President so eloquently put it:

BIDEN:“…you share a similar concern here in China. You have no safety net. Your policy has been one which I fully understand – I’m not second-guessing – of one child per family. The result being that you’re in a position where one wage earner will be taking care of four retired people. Not sustainable.” (See video of the comments above at ~38:00 mark)

I’m sorry, but doesn’t Vice President Biden claim to be pro-choice? As in he believes in a woman’s right to choose? In his own book, Promises to Keep, by Joe Biden he writes that he:

“remembers vividly the first time, in 1973, I had to go to the floor to vote on abortion. A fellow Senator asked how I would vote. My position is that I am personally opposed to abortion, but I don’t think I have a right to impose my view on the rest of society. I’ve thought a lot about it, and my position probably doesn’t please anyone. I think the government should stay out completely. I will not vote to overturn the Court’s decision. I will not vote to curtail a woman’s right to choose abortion. But I will also not vote to use federal funds to fund abortion.” Biden goes on to say that, “I stuck to my middle-of-the-road position on abortion for more than 30 years. I still vote against partial birth abortion and federal funding, and I’d like to make it easier for scared young mothers to choose not to have an abortion, but I will also vote against aconstitutional amendment that strips a woman of her right to make her own choice.”

Source: Promises to Keep, by Joe Biden, p.104-105 Jul 31, 2007

As a result of this gendercide there were over 120 boys for every 100 girls in 2010, resulting in an estimated 20 to 30 million surplus in Chinese men. If what you wrote in your book Mr. Vice President is what you truly believe then how can you possibly say that you “fully understand” China's One Child Policy, which is enforced through forced abortion and involuntary sterilization? This state mandate is the opposite of a right to choose.

See disturbing 2007 NPR story on forced abortions in China here.

Romney: Obama playing "chicken" with the US economy

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 11:14:11 -0800

Former Massachusetts Governor and potential Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has formed an exploratory committee but has not yet announced his candidacy. Most polls show him as one of the clear front-runners of the GOP potentials.

Romney immediately gives his intentions by stating “this president is playing chicken with the US economy. I’m looking at this race because I have a 25 year career in the private sector I know how jobs come and how they go and I want to create for jobs for the American people and get our economy back on track.”

When asked what he thought of the budget deal struck at the last minute to not shut down the government, he said “step by step we’ll have as much spending reduction and budget reduction as possible.” But for now Obama “needs to stop putting out ‘pseudo cures.”

Sean brings up Obamacare and the healthcare plan Romney helped to pass in Massachusetts. “I think this is going to be a big campaign issue. People always bring up the issue of the healthcare plan you passed in Massachusetts…the president has even gone as far as to say I modeled this after Mitt Romney. If you get the nomination and Obama says you’re the architect of Obamacare how do you answer that?”

A confident Romney replies “I’d love to have the opportunity because I’d turn to him and say ‘OK Mr. President then why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you pick up the phone and say Mitt you carried out an experiment in Massachusetts and some of it worked well and some of it didn’t …’ Because I’d a told him Obamacare would be trillions of dollars of new spending in a government that can afford it right now, that it’s gonna make a mess of the U.S. healthcare system, that it’s bad policy, that it’s unconstitutional and the American people in the final analysis are going to reject it.”

Sean then turns to foreign policy. Romney says the “Lack of foreign policy by this president has an enormous cost…right now with the Middle East in turmoil, Egypt, Libya, Syria...for this president not to know which way to hit is frightening and dangerous… It’s almost as if he does not have a compass.”

Lastly Romney gives us insight into the most important lesson he learned for his last presidential run and what he plans on doing differently if he runs again in 2012.

Boston Tea Party of 2011

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 12:22:54 -0800

Since the election of Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) all eyes have been on Massachusetts. An historically Democratic state and home to the most liberal politicians of the Kennedy family.

Sean interviews Jeff Katz of Boston’s WXKS Morning show to get the latest directly from the belly of the Boston Tea Party Friday April 15th. “We have Massachusetts Republicans which a lot of other places would be called Democrats,” but they “put their money where their mouth was” Katz says of the ‘Tea Party’ patrons who came out in droves.

Sean asked what was their reaction to the budget deal made in DC just one week before to which Katz replied “It’s like a boyfriend or a girlfriend who left for something better,” and notes the concern that Republicans fear they will get blamed for everything which stunts their motivation to go after what the people who voted them in office want.

Sean mentions the stunning election victories for the Republicans and Tea Party candidates in 2011 and admits “if anyone gets the credit it’s the people you’re with today.” Katz responds “they’re regular folks, no a part of the establishment, many have never been involved in politics. They work really hard and like to do the right thing. They are passionate because they understand this debate is about their kids and their grandkids.”

Congress freshmen on their first 100 days

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 09:11:56 -0800

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," April 12, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: It has been almost 100 days since the 112th Congress reconvened with a new GOP-controlled House. And here to help us examine what has been accomplished, what still needs to get done, are the lawmakers themselves.

And joining us live tonight from Washington, D.C. with the focus group of freshmen Republican congressmen and women is the author of the best seller "Win," the president of the Word Doctors, the one and only Dr. Luntz. How are you sir?

FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER: Sean, actually, I'm not the worst dressed person here for the first time of my life

HANNITY: Wow, ouch!

LUNTZ: These 19 people here have been here for 98 days to be exact. And we had most of you here 98 days ago to ask you, could you really change the culture of Washington? So, here's the question, by a show of hands, how many believe that you have already changed the culture of Washington? Changed it.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Changing.

LUNTZ: Changing. Tell me how?

REP. CORY GARDNER, R-COLO.: We moved it from a conversation about to whether or not to cut spending to how much we can and how much we should cut. We are going to cut more.

REP. SANDY ADAMS, R-FLA.: I think we've made it more transparent. We are giving people an opportunity to really know the truth.

LUNTZ: And you are their freshmen class president?

REP. AUSTIN SCOTT, R-GA.: Yes, sir.

LUNTZ: How would you characterize what your class has done to change the culture of Washington?

SCOTT: I'd say, it's 87 independent leaders with the focus on the next generation not the next election.

LUNTZ: You are one of the people who voted against the CR?

REP. TREY GOWDY, R-S.C.: Yes, sir.

LUNTZ: Has the culture of Washington changed, in your mind?

GOWDY: I think it has. And I did vote against the CR because I'm blessed to represent a people who are prepared to reshape and resize government at a little quicker pace. But I can tell you this. I have respect for my colleagues in the freshmen class who cast a different vote. And I don't question their commitment to cutting one iota.

LUNTZ: You also voted against the CR?

REP. SCOTT RIGELL , R-VA.: Yes. I didn't quite buy into the logic of taking it down to $61 billion from 100. So, as I saw it, we were at 39 percent of really where we need to be. And I know as an entrepreneur that reducing deficit, reducing the deficit is in itself, and act of job creation. And the sense of urgency, this Congress this year addressing the deficit.

LUNTZ: So, I want to ask you, how specifically has the culture changed? Because there are millions of people quite literally watching tonight that aren't quite sure. How have you actually changed it?

REP. MICHAEL GRIMM, R-N.Y.: Well, the fact that we are no longer speaking about how much we are spending and what we are cutting. What I think you are hearing, several on the same page. But we have different tactics. And I respect my colleagues that have different tactics. But at the end of the day, our goals are exactly the same. And that's to dramatically reduce spending and get our fiscal house in order.

REP. MIKE POMPEO, R-KAN.: Yes. I think another big change has been that we don't spend much time talking about how we got here, whether it was Democrats or Republicans that dug this hole. We spent a lot of time thinking about, what are the facts? How do we get out of this what is the path forward? I think that's a big shift.

LUNTZ: Sean, you wouldn't have seen it, but we filmed just before we were here, a segment that is going to air this weekend. We had 14, 15 average Americans going back and forth with these 19 freshmen. And it would have made you feel really good, the interaction that they had, the comments that they were making. This is real frustration with Washington among the American people but it feels like they get it.

HANNITY: Let me give credit where credit is due. I believe they have changed the debate. I am encouraged by that. I do sense from everybody that is speaking there that there is a sense of urgency. I just want to ask this, because I think I speak for a lot of people. When we have a $3.6 trillion budget this year, $1.65 trillion deficit and we can't get $61 billion cut, the prorated rate from $100 billion and it comes out to $28 billion, I know I speak for a lot of people in saying, we are disappointed. And I want to get their reaction.

LUNTZ: Go ahead.

REP. ADAM KINZINGER, R-ILL.: You know, what? That's a great question. Ask Harry Reid. We would have cut even more than $61 billion if we could. But we've got to deal with a Democratic controlled Senate, we'll dealing with democrat president. Ask Harry Reid why it is extreme to cut just a small percentage of the government.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: And it comes down to tactics, I mean, there are some in this freshmen class, that have said, you know, we are not going to cut this until it gets to the $100 billion mark. And there are others like myself, say, I will cut as much as I can every chance we get until we get to the debt ceiling. Because it's all about the debt ceiling.

REP. ANNA MARIE BUERKLE, R-N.Y.: And, you know, the truth of the matter is, we are disappointed too. We started out, we wanted $100 billion, that was the goal. But we've got to be realistic. And we are only one half of one-third of this government.

GARDNER: But this week we start moving from billions of dollars to trillions of dollars. That's where we start this week, real cuts of trillions and dollars.

LUNTZ: So, I've got to ask you with a show of hands. Sean, raising legitimate points, have you been successful in cutting wasteful Washington spending, yes or no?

(TALKING OVER EACH OTHER)

REP. JAMIE HERRERA BEUTLER, R-WAS.: Here's the thing, we've cut more than any Congress, four times more than any Congress since World War II and we've been here for four months. It is a step. If we were saying we are stopping here by all means, be disappointed. But this is one step, and we are going to keep walking. Baby, I voted for that cut, I'm proud of it. It was the right step. And we're going to keep putting one foot in front of the other until we get this fiscal house in order.

LUNTZ: Sean, they talked about the $38-and-a-half billion dollar cut. And it was the most. And in the conversations that we were having before we went on the air, to them, it is a step-by-step approach.

HANNITY: Well, can I just respond? I didn't know who that was the last speaker. But what she said is encouraging to me. What others have been saying there is encouraging to me. Because I just feel like if we are really spitting in the ocean with $61 billion. I think $6.2 trillion which Paul Ryan proposes is great. For example, how do we get the next level of cuts in? Are they willing to vote against raising the debt ceiling for example?

LUNTZ: OK. Let's do it.

BEUTLER: I think, I am no closer today -- and I'm Jamie Herrera Beutler, Washington State. I'm no closer today to voting to increase the debt ceiling than I was what, 90, 100 days ago. Because I haven't seen anything that would cause me to do that. We are here to make a change, and that's what we're going to do.

ADAMS: Neither am I. No closer today than I was when we first got here. We haven't seen the reforms that we need to even begin the discussion on raising the debt ceiling.

LUNTZ: Last one.

Bachmann: "This was a lost opportunity"

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 11:22:29 -0800

In an interview with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann yesterday Sean said “If I was in the congress I would not have supported this deal. Twenty-eight people agree with me and you’re one of them.” In a battle over the deficit and where to make budget cuts, the Congress made an agreement just shy of midnight Friday night, at which point there would have been a government shutdown.

Many on the right, including Michele Bachmann and Sean think the GOP did not get a large enough cut in the deficit including ending funding for programs like Obamacare and Planned Parenthood.

Bachmann was disappointed because “voters wanted to dramatically cut funding and defund Obamacare.” Although many GOP demands were not met, Bachmann does say “we’re in a very powerful position. Obama doesn’t give us a dime unless we give it to him” but laments that, “if we wailed on it harder we could have gotten a lot further.”

Sean asks Bachmann point blank “what happened?” Part of Bachmann’s explanation is that Congress “didn’t make it clear what they were fighting for.” In essence they “didn’t’ blow [the issues] up and make it a big issue to get backing” from public opinion. They kept focusing on cuts but not the finite details as to where the cuts should be made.

“We didn’t let people know what we were fighting for. I was fighting to defund Planned Parenthood and defund Obamacare.”

Hannity vs Sharpton Debate (4/7/11)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 08:22:16 -0800

Thursday March 10 2011

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:33:55 -0800

James O'Keefe, Rick Santelli,

Wednesday March 09 2011

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 04:27:22 -0800

Mike Pence,

Bachmann Demands Democrats Give Back $105 Billion 'Tucked Away' Inside Health Care Law

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 05:05:38 -0800

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: So, remember when Nancy Pelosi infamously said the Congress must first pass the health care bill in order to find out what is in it.

Well, tonight, I'm sorry to report that it seems that she was right. Now according to Congresswoman Michele Bachman n, a number of provisions were hidden so deep inside this legislation that most members of Congress are still unaware of their existence. It is a staggering $105 billion in appropriations that were inserted into the bill at the last minute behind closed doors.

VIDEO: Bachmann demands return of $105 billion to taxpayers

Now in this case, the traditional appropriations process was bypassed meaning that more than 100 billion taxpayer dollars has already been sent to bureaucrats to fund this controversial bill.

Now by engaging in this deceitful process, Democrats like Nancy Pelosi ensured that regardless of the outcome of last November's elections, that the hands of Congress would be tied and Obamacare would be funded, no matter what.

And here to explain how this was even possible and what Republicans can do to roll it back is Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

You know, when I first heard this, I said -- I couldn't even believe the story, is so unbelievable. Because Republicans have been saying, "All right, if we don't get the president to sign onboard in the Senate, we are going to defund it."

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN, R-MINN.: Right.

HANNITY: So, now you found out through the congressional, what, research service.

BACHMANN: Congressional Research Service, with the reports that was issued two weeks before the election, no one was really reading Congressional Research reports. And then there was another report issued in February that detailed the $105 billion. And this is an enormous sum of money. A 105 billion, 464 million, this was tucked away inside the Obamacare bill.

People say, "Well, what's wrong with the members of Congress? Why didn't you know it's there?" It's because we didn't get the bill until literally a couple of hours before we were supposed to vote on it and it's 2900 pages long. What they did is they took the bill, this amount of money, split it up and put in different sections of the bill. Nobody knew until February, when it came out. We had an eagle eye from the Heritage Foundation, Ernest Istook, a former member of Congress, found this in this report. He wrote a few blog posts. One of my colleagues Steve King from Iowa also found out about this and we've been trying to do everything we can to alert people and say, give the money back.

HANNITY: Well, first of all, how breathtaking is it that you can insert it in a 3,000 page bill and lose $105 billion in the process and nobody picked up on it?

BACHMANN: I think this is an intentional, don't you?

HANNITY: Yes, because it sounds like it.

BACHMANN: Do you think that Harry Reid is just like an escaped his memory to tell the senators, oh by the way, if you vote for Obamacare, you are also voting for another $105 billion.

HANNITY: Were they that pessimistic that December when they passed this that they'd lose?

BACHMANN: Well, I think they knew, I think this was intentional. I think that, that's why I say, Obama, Reid and Pelosi, they owe us an apology and an explanation. But they need to give the money back. This is the good news. The bad news is, Obamacare is prefunded for the next eight years, the implementation. We thought if we can't repeal it --

HANNITY: You can defund it.

BACHMANN: -- at least we can defund it. Now, we can't defund it.

HANNITY: So, you're telling people now that you cannot defund.

BACHMANN: No, it is done. It is done.

HANNITY: So, there's no way to remedy this?

BACHMANN: Yes, there is. That's the good news.

OK, now, the good news is, we've got this two week continuing resolution, government runs out of money on March 18th. This is what we've propose, we've written language to add on to the next continuing resolution that says, Obama, Pelosi, Reid, you give this money back. You didn't tell the American people, you didn't tell the Senate, you didn't tell the House, give the money back. And then, we'll start talking about the budget, this is the first thing.

HANNITY: Is the leadership in agreement with you on this? In other words, will all the Republicans in the household the line? Meaning, you will shutdown the government unless this money that they inserted to fund Obamacare is given back?

BACHMANN: Well, that's what we are going to talk about this week when we go back to Washington, D.C. I just want to encourage your listeners, you can go to my -- either my website Michele Bachmann or my Facebook site, we are going to have regular updates. So, go there for regular updates.

HANNITY: Have you spoken to the leadership about it?

BACHMANN: I have spoken to the leadership and we are going to have a meeting tomorrow at 5:30 at the Capitol to explain. A lot of members don't even know about this yet, this outrage. So we're going to discuss it.

HANNITY: Now, once you found out that Kathleen Sebelius has what, a $16 billion slush fund.

BACHMANN: Oh, this is incredible, section 402 of the bill. She has a $16 billion slush fund, that means she can do whatever she wants at this money. She can reach in, tap it, spend it anyway she wants.

HANNITY: Sixteen billion dollars.

BACHMANN: It gets worse than that, Sean, in section 1311[a], she has the right to an unlimited tap on the Treasury Department. So, if let's say, California, that's in a financial mess, they can call her up and say, "Guess what? We need more money to put in these private health exchanges, maybe all 30 billion." She can say "sure thing," without coming back to Congress she can appropriate the money.

HANNITY: I thought Congress appropriated money.

BACHMANN: I did too, so did the Constitution.

HANNITY: Where do they get the idea that they can appropriate unlimited amounts of money? That's unconstitutional.

BACHMANN: They gave themselves that authority. In my mind that's unconstitutional.

HANNITY: I just can't believe nobody picked up on this.

BACHMANN: Well, why do you think Speaker Pelosi wouldn't let us read the bill? Why do you think Harry Reid wouldn't give the senators the bill until just hours ahead of time? Remember, not one Republican voted for Obamacare in the Senate or House, only Democrats did.

HANNITY: We're running out of time, and I've to ask you a political question, because you are considering a run for the presidency.

Michele Bachmann

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:05:19 -0800

Friday February 25 2011

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:12:37 -0800

Oliver North,

A Miracle In Massachusetts

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 13:58:10 -0800

The election of the Republican Junior Senator from Massachusetts shocked the nation and is credited with starting the tea party title-wave. The GOP Senator was elected in a 2010 special election to serve the remainder of arguably the most Liberal Senator Ted Kennedy’s term when he died after a long struggle with a brain tumor.

Considered an epic upset in the most Liberal state, Brown defeated Democratic candidate and Massachusetts Attorney General, Martha Coakley, 53% to 46% . The upset was particularly embarrassing to the White House after Obama had personally traveled to Boston to try to ‘save’ the once favored Coakley. The loss was also devastating to the Liberals in support of healthcare overhaul, who feared another vote for the GOP would halt passage in the Senate.

Brown’s win was just the first of a GOP landslide when gubernatorial, senate and congressional candidates swept their Democratic opponents in the 2010 November elections. Since taking office, however, Senator Brown has been accused of flip-flopping, and caucusing with the Democrats instead of Republicans on important issues such as Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

In his new book “Against All Odds,” Senator Brown gives the reader an in-depth behind the scenes of the man who shook Massachusetts to the core, from his shameful and hidden childhood to his rise to the United States Senate. And Sean presses him on the issues the people want to know the most such as his thoughts on Obama, the direction of the country, healthcare and his future aspirations.

Listen to Sean’s Radio Interview {HERE}

Watch Senator Brown on ‘Hannity’ {HERE}

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," February 21, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown burst on to the political scene back in 2010 when he was unexpectedly elected to fill the seat of the late Senator Ted Kennedy. And now in a brand-new book, he details his life struggles and how they have helped shape him into the person that he is today.

And joining me now is the man himself. His book, "Against All Odds: My Life of Hardship, Fast Breaks, and Second Chances" is now in stores.

Senator, how are you? Welcome back to the program, I appreciate you being here.

SEN. SCOTT BROWN, R-MASS.: Great, Sean. Good to be on again. Thank you.

HANNITY: I read this book. I got to tell you, you grew up poor, broken family. I mean, really broken family. You talked about, "I remember the days when the largest thing we had in our refrigerator were milk and blocks of yellow government-issued cheese."

BROWN: Yes. Good old days.

HANNITY: Not exactly, right? Pretty tough.

BROWN: It was tough. But, you know, throughout all that, the one thing that my mom did instill on us is hard work. She usually had two or three jobs. And she was just battling to, not only battling, literally sometimes with her husbands, but also, you know, battling to keep a roof over our heads. And that really was conveyed to me.

HANNITY: And you even stole food, because you were hungry.

BROWN: Yes.

HANNITY: And you got busted when you were 14-years-old.

BROWN: Yes. I stole food. I was playing basketball and running around and was growing leaps and bounds at that point at a young age. I think at 12, I was 5'11, I would just grow, grow, grow like a sprout. And, yes, I was always hungry.

HANNITY: Well, I will get to that in a second, how basketball and a coach and a social studies teacher really saved your life. You, and this got a lot of news -- you revealed in the book that you were sexually abused by a 13-year-old kid when were you seven.

BROWN: Right.

HANNITY: And when you were 14 and went away to a Christian camp, of all places.

BROWN: I was 10 actually.

HANNITY: You were 10 at that point, OK. And in the first case, you took a rock and hit the kid in the head.

BROWN: Yes.

HANNITY: How -- first of all, when you're writing this book and you're going through all of this, you know, it had to be tough to remember it all. I'm sure you tried to forget it. And why did you think it was important to put in the book?

BROWN: You don't forget at all. You don't forget. So no, it wasn't hard to recall.

HANNITY: I didn't mean it that way.

BROWN: What was difficult was obviously was bringing it public and talking about it. My family, my mom didn't know, my dad -- my wife had a sense that something was going on, just little things I did with the girls. "Hey girls, stranger danger, you know, you go to a camp and if anyone is touching you a little weird, just be aware, make sure you tell mom or dad. We won't be mad, you know, don't be embarrassed." Little things like that. So, after she read the book, she is like, oh, OK, I get it. It's allowed us to really talk things through, the same with my mom and dad. And my daughter Ayla just read it, she said, dad, I get it now, I understand why you are so protective.

HANNITY: One of your daughters, by the way, was on "American Idol," she has done very well for herself.

BROWN: Right.

HANNITY: What -- as all of this was going on in your life you had some people when you finally got to 8th grade that really, because you had, how many men came into your life through your mother -- a lot?

BROWN: My mom and dad were married four times each. My mom is happily divorced. My dad is happily married. And yes, I had some good coaches and teachers who just took me under their wing and said, "Here, here is a basketball, here, you have a lot of potential, here." And they directed me, and quite frankly, but not for that, I probably wouldn't be -- definitely wouldn't be here talking to you. That's for sure.

HANNITY: But every relationship that your mom had when she brought men into the house seemed to become an abusive one.

BROWN: Yes. Two out of four were. My dad -- obviously my dad -- they were just too young. And after that, it was pretty intense.

HANNITY: And you say, you focused all your energy in basketball. You were angry all the time and that was your outlet.

BROWN: Yes.

HANNITY: Sports.

BROWN: Yes, sports. You know, like I said, but not for that, it channeled me. I mean, I remember the coach saying, "Hey, Brown! Why don't you guys play like Brown?"

HANNITY: Because you were playing with intensity.

BROWN: "Brown, whatever you have, you keep it up. Why can't you guys be like Brown?" I'm like, what are you talking about? If they only knew.

HANNITY: Yes. Well, let's move on to politics a little bit here.

BROWN: Sure.

HANNITY: There are some members of the Tea Party that have gotten angry with you. And they've even used the term Benedict Brown. You mentioned the Tea Party, as far as I caught in the book that I was reading through most of it, is I think one time. And I think the Tea Party Movement feels, hey, wait a minute, we helped elect you. You know, why not give more praise to them.

BROWN: First of all, I do, I give great praise to not only the Tea Party but every other political party and individual group that helped me. It wasn't just one group. To think that is not really accurate.

HANNITY: You consider yourself a Tea Party member?

BROWN: No, I'm a Republican from Massachusetts. I'm not a Tea Party member. But, what is a Tea Party member, somebody is concerned about the fiscal and financial future of our country? That's me. They're concerned about the over taxation and over spending in our national security, that's me. So, I agree with what they stand for.

HANNITY: I'll give you the examples where people are mad at you, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," financial reform, START Treaty, and the jobs and highways bill.

BROWN: Well, the jobs and highways -- let's start with the jobs and highways bill. A $15 billion bill that could that, if it went through, and remember, we only had 41, I moved for cloture immediately because there was $100 billion of amendments. So, I look at it as I saved $100 billion. And it hit the parameters, did it increase taxes, increase the deficit, good for Massachusetts, good for the country, and create jobs. And it hit all those five parameters.

HANNITY: Right.

BROWN: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." I'm in the military, I'm still serving. I'm a lieutenant colonel. There are gays in the military, and when they come home injured or dead, I don't ask if they are gay or straight.

HANNITY: What about the military personnel or leaders that say this is not good for morale?

BROWN: All the leaders said -- and I spoke with every one of them, and I spoke over a thousand people. They said our concern is about the implementation during wartime, and I agree with that, and so do they.

And they are very cognizant of trying to do it during that period. So that issue obviously stands on its own merits. With regard to the finreg, as you know, that bill was about as big as this building and because I got involved we made it about as big as this table. When Congress gets done with this, it is going to be this big. And that was very important.

HANNITY: Here are the headlines. You've seen them. "Brown helps Democrats break GOP filibuster." "Scott Brown under pressure from left, votes for regulatory bill," I'm giving you the media. "HDH in Boston," "Scott Brown defends voting with Democrats." In that sense, "Harry Reid woos Scott Brown on jobs bill."

BROWN: You know, there is no wooing. Bottom line is --

HANNITY: He didn't woo you? He didn't court you? He didn't call you? He didn't meet with you?

BROWN: He asked me to look at the bill, which I would have done anyway. But if you look at each and every bill in an independent manner, I'm not sure what the mystery was. As I said, I went down there to be an independent voter and thinker.

I'm not going to be in lockstep with any particular party. I'm going to look at what is best for hitting those five parameters. And bottom line is we are in deep trouble right now, and we need people who are going to work to move our country forward and attack the very things that are holding us back.

I'm looking forward to tackling the debt and the deficit when we get back into session. As I said, when I went down there, $11.95 trillion, up to 14 -- over 14 trillion and rising. Absolutely no effort to reel in our spending and our debt and get our economy moving again. We spent very little time talking about jobs, and I'm going to continue to work to do that.

HANNITY: When we come back, I'll get your thoughts on President Obama and much more we will have with Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: As we continue now with Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown. His brand-new book, "Against All Odds" is in stores right now.

I consider myself a Reagan conservative. What that means, you know, a constitutionally principled limited government, more freedom, strong national defense conservative. You say you are a Scott Brown Republican.

BROWN: A Reagan Republican.

HANNITY: Are you a Reagan Republican?

BROWN: I absolutely feel very strongly about Ronald Reagan. I'm actually giving the keynote speech out at the Reagan library in a couple of nights per Mrs. Reagan's request. I have a lot of love and respect for President Reagan and what he did for our country.

HANNITY: Yes, all right, let me ask you. What do you think of President Obama?

BROWN: As I said it before, he's got a lot of challenges. You know, he's got a good heart and he has a couple of kids like I do. But in terms of tackling the very real fiscal issues that we're facing right now, I think he could do a lot better.

HANNITY: Did he -- did he punt, did he wimp out? Did he, you know, show a lack of leadership with, for example, his budget? Because it was only about a month ago he was talking about if we really want to deal with the budget, we have to deal with entitlement reform. He presents the budget and he doesn't deal with any of that.

BROWN: As you saw in the State of the Union, there was hopeful conversation about tackling a lot of things. So everyone was expecting them -- him to actually lead on those issues. I'm hopeful that through the numbers we now have in the House and the message we send with that budget, and then dealing with the opportunities facing with the CR and also some of the debt ceiling issues -- not only can we tackle those, but there will be some leadership when it deals with entitlements.

HANNITY: You say he faces big challenges, nobody disagrees with that. But this president by the end of this fiscal year will have accumulated nearly $5 trillion in new Obama debt. The stimulus has failed. The deficit has never been larger. If we project out, the deficit is even going to be higher.

BROWN: Listen, I don't support the budget in its present form.

HANNITY: No, I got it. But can you say that he failed? His economic policies--

BROWN: It is a work in progress. Certainly, we can all do better. I mean, we need leadership not only from the House, but from the president and the Senate. We need to come together.

HANNITY: Did he show leadership on that bill?

BROWN: On the budget? Listen, he could have done better. I think everybody knows that. You know, everybody is saying that he could have done better.

HANNITY: You seem -- I don't know. I'm trying to understand your reluctance --

BROWN: You're trying to have me hammer somebody, and where I can work with the president, I'm going to do it. It is not certainly productive for me as a senator to go out hammering anybody, whether they're Democrat or Republican.

HANNITY: How about just honest, truthful criticism?

BROWN: I've said right from the beginning that I'm disappointed in the budget and he should have shown leadership when it comes to working with entitlement reform and focusing on jobs and the economy.

I've been beating that drum for the last year. When they are talking about everything but the economy, I'm talking about jobs and moving our country forward.

HANNITY: Go back to when he said if we don't pass the stimulus, we face a catastrophe.

BROWN: I would have voted against that.

HANNITY: OK, fair enough.

BROWN: He hasn't create one new net job, that's been a failure, yes.

HANNITY: All right, health care passes, a brand new entitlement.

BROWN: They rammed it down our throats.

HANNITY: CBO says it going to lose 800,000 jobs, and the president, again, nearly $5 trillion in new debt. I think his economic plan has been a failure. And I'm just -- you say he has a tough job.

BROWN: It speaks for itself. I mean, we are in deep trouble. We have to work together collectively. It is not going to be one man. His leadership is critically important to send a message throughout the world that we are ready for business, that we are going to get our fiscal house in order.

I'm hopeful that he will do that. I know what I'm going to do. I'm talking about jobs. I've offered many alternatives to the spending that we are doing, paying for things with money in the system versus using the credit card.

Listen, I'm beating that drum and every other senator I know is beating that drum. We need some leadership from the majority party and the president to do the very same thing.

HANNITY: Are you happy the way he handled Egypt? Are you happy the way he's handling his foreign policy? Did you think he's given enough support to the dissident voices for example in Iran?

BROWN: Listen, I think that I'm very hopeful about what's happening over there, but I'm very concerned about obviously the way the protesters are being treated. I think everybody worldwide got caught off guard with what happened in Egypt.

I would have liked them to be on the same message, secretary of state, president, vice president, et cetera -- they weren't. With regard to Libya, and obviously what is happening in Iran, I'm hopeful they will continue to allow -- give the tools and resources to these people who want to seek freedom to in fact do so and be there behind them.

But we also need to make sure when we actually have a change that there's no void. We have groups like the Muslim Brotherhood come in. We need an orderly transition. Sometimes the United States needs to just step back and let these countries feel their way out and get some young rising stars in those countries to step forth and say, "You know what? I'll take it. I'll run with that mantle and let them go out and have a free and fair election."

HANNITY: Last question, as it relates to Wisconsin and the protesting, and the governor, Governor Walker's position about collective bargaining. Do you think the governor is right?

BROWN: I think the governor was elected to do a job and he's going to send his budget to the legislature so they can do their job. I encourage the senators to come back into the state and start tackling these very real issues realistically --

HANNITY: Do you agree with the governor? Do you think the governor is right?

BROWN: I agree that everything is on the table right now in this tough fiscal times.

HANNITY: Yes, but he's saying get rid of collective bargaining.

BROWN: I think he's the governor, and whatever he and the people of Wisconsin want, we should support.

HANNITY: You are ducking that question.

BROWN: Hey, listen. It's true. I'm not from Wisconsin. If I was there--

HANNITY: I got it, but -- it's a big union state in Massachusetts, right?

BROWN: It's a big union state and certainly there's a place for unions, but also there's a place to also come together to solve the real problems of each and every state. While everyone is tightening their belts, so do unions and other groups need to tighten their belts and contribute to the --

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Senator, I'm glad under tremendous difficulties growing up, in that sense it is an inspiring story that people can overcome a very hard past. Thanks for being with us.

BROWN: It's great to see you, too.

HANNITY: All right, thanks.

Truth Behind Wisconsin Protests

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 08:57:29 -0800

Sean kicked off Monday’s show by discussing the ongoing protests in Wisconsin.

“I want to clear some of the underbrush. One of the largest criticisms of the Wisconsin governor is that he’s union busting. The reality is is that Wisconsin has the strongest civil service system in the country. One that was put in place long before collective bargaining rights were granted to government workers. What the governor wants to do is limit the power of public employee unions to negotiate contracts and work rules which is something that twenty four states already limit or ban.

These changes need to be made for competitive reasons and for debt reasons,” Sean concluded.

Protests Continue In Madison, Wisconsin

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 05:36:51 -0800

Gov. Nikki Haley

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 09:39:49 -0800

Gov. Haley: Obama's Budget 'Killing Us One Day at a Time'

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 09:37:56 -0800

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," February 15, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: The future of the president's health care bill is looking dire. Not only does it face continuing legal challenges, but lawmakers are not backing down either.

Now the latest to voice her fervent opposition to this government takeover South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. In her first month as governor, Nikki Haley is already proving herself to be a force to be reckoned with. But will she able to stop Obamacare from coming to South Carolina?

And now joining us is the governor of the great state South Carolina, Nikki Haley. Governor, welcome back.

GOVERNOR NIKKI HALEY, R-S.C.: Hey, Sean. It's great to be with you again.

HANNITY: All right, you are sort of taking a dual approach. Your first choice is to say, all right, Mr. President, we don't like it in South Carolina, allow us to opt-out and this is something that you brought to the president's attention. What has come from it since then?

HALEY: Well, you know, first of all, let me make it very clear. We are an equal opportunity opponent in South Carolina to any sort of Obamacare whatsoever. We are doing that on three fronts. First of all, I am supporting the attorney general's decision and certainly thankful and grateful for the decision that came back last week from Florida. I think it spoke volumes.

Secondly, we have supported Senator DeMint's bill, which basically repeals the bill altogether and then this past week, I had a press conference with Senator Graham who has issued an opt-out bill, which would allow any state to opt-out.

You know, after my conversation with the president asking him to repeal, he said no. I asked if we could opt-out. He said that we could, but he had strings attached. What Senator Graham's bill is allowing us to do is allowing every state to decide what we need to do. The president's conversation has been about health care services. What we need to be talking about in our state is health. How do we get the most health for the least amount of money?

South Carolina is not like any other state in the country. The issues that drive us on health care is not that we don't have good quality health care, it's that we have unemployment and poverty. We need to handle South Carolina in the way we know that is best not, the way the president knows it is best. Right now, I have 10.7 percent unemployment. I need to increase jobs. I don't need to be increasing Medicaid.

HANNITY: Right, but when you -- when you brought this to the president's attention and you did so personally, he said I'll consider it if you do a, b, c, d, e and f and basically adopt his health care on your own. So that is not viable option for you is it?

HALEY: Well, we are still looking at it. Look, I hired one of the best health and human service directors in the country. Tony Keck and I are working very closely together to try and find every option we can to take care of South Carolinians.

And so when the president said, we want you to consider, you know, that we will consider an opt-out if you have a state health exchange, if you deal with preexisting conditions, if you allow pooling. You know, we are taking every opportunity to look at all of those avenues and we will do that.

But what is best is for us is for us not to have any strings, for us to be allowed to do this without the president's input. But yes, we will continue to do everything we can, one to oppose this bill and two to improve the health for the people of South Carolina on our terms, not on the president's.

HANNITY: All right, so the president proposes his budget and one of the things that I think is going to happen is governors like yourself, Christie in New Jersey, Jindal in Louisiana, other governors around the country.

By the way, even New York Governor Cuomo is saying he's not going to raise taxes, we're going to get our budget in balance and he's trying to entice business to stay. So for the federal government since he's been president has accumulated nearly $5 trillion in debt. He's got these new entitlements, how is that going to impact South Carolina?

HALEY: You know, I mean, he's killing us one day at a time and I will tell you that what South Carolina is going to do is say yes we are going to handle our financial situation. But if this is the help that President Obama is going to give us, no thanks. We don't need it.

What we've seen him do is grow entitlements more in this budget than we've seen since the 60s. What we have seen him do is talk about jobs, but continue to press on government in a way we can't allow our businesses to grow jobs. We actually need him to just get out of the way. We need him to understand we don't need --

HANNITY: This president doesn't know how to --

HALEY: We don't need more of these issues. We need to have opportunities for our small businesses to thrive.

HANNITY: This president doesn't know how to get out of the way. I mean, when I spoke to you after you had this conversation with the president, he gave off as I said his litany of things you need to do to accomplish the task of opting out, it seemed impossible to me. Except basically saying adopt what everything I want then we'll consider it. I didn't take his proposal serious. I felt like he was giving you the brush- off.

HALEY: You know, what we need to see at this time in our country is people willing to say that they've made a mistake. I think the people spoke loud and clear in the last election. President Obama needs to admit this is a terrible mistake for our states. He needs say let's regroup, let's allow them to opt-out, if they don't want to participate, they shouldn't. If they do want to participate, fine --

HANNITY: What are the odds of this?

HALEY: Or let's get rid of it together and start all over. For South Carolina, we'll tell you this is not helping us. This is actually going to cost 175,000 of our employees that are already covered by employers to drop off and go on the Medicaid rolls.

It is going to cost us $5 billion over the next 10 years. That's not helping South Carolina. If that's the kind of help he's going to give us, no thanks.

HANNITY: Governor, if he admits he made a mistake on health care, I will eat my script on television, for charity.

HALEY: If he admits he made a mistake on health care, I'll stand right next to him and thank him.

HANNITY: All right, Governor Haley. Thanks for being with us. Appreciate it.

HALEY: Thank you so much. Always a pleasure.

House seen blocking healthcare funds

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 05:12:42 -0800

(Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives is likely to vote to block funding for President Barack Obama's signature healthcare overhaul when it takes up a budget plan next week, House Republican Leader Eric Cantor said on Tuesday.

"I expect to see one way or other the product coming out of the House to speak to that and to preclude any funding to be used for that," Cantor said at a news conference, referring to an effort to block implementation of the health-care law.

House Republicans aim to pass a spending measure next week that would immediately cut at least $32 billion from the government's $3.7 trillion budget in an effort to trim budget deficits that could hit an estimated $1.5 trillion this year.

Details of the Republican spending-cut package will be made public on Thursday ahead of a wide-ranging debate on the House floor next week.

Cantor's office said the language blocking funding for the healthcare law is expected to be offered as an amendment during the House debate next week. Republicans, trying to make good on a campaign pledge for a more open legislative process, plan to debate a number of amendments to the spending bill.

Cantor said he expects the spending bill to include healthcare language when it leaves the House for Senate consideration.

The measure is not likely to get past the Democratic-controlled Senate, which rejected a Republican bid to fully repeal the healthcare overhaul that Obama signed into law last year.

Republicans succeeded late last year in blocking some $1 billion for implementation of the healthcare law that Democrats wanted to include in the temporary government funding bill that is set to expire on March 4.

A move by Republicans to block healthcare law funds will help set the stage for partisan battle over spending that some lawmakers fear could lead to a government shutdown.

(Reporting Donna Smith and Andy Sullivan; Editing by Todd Eastham and Cynthia Osterman)

Eric Cantor

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 05:10:56 -0800

Comic treatment for health plan MIT econ whiz’s hip idea to explain overhaul

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 07:14:15 -0800

By Christine McConville / Tuesday, February 8, 2011 | http://www.bostonherald.com |

The MIT economics whiz who crafted President Obama’s national health-care overhaul now plans to explain the complex and controversial plan to the masses — in one long comic book.

Jonathan Gruber, a nationally recognized health economist who devised the economic underpinnings of Obamacare (Gruber hates the term), said his three comic-loving kids encouraged him to use the hip format of the graphic novel — basically an expensive comic published in book form — to tell the story of the complicated plan to 300 million Americans.

Unlike most comic books, Gruber’s won’t have a superhero like Batman or Captain America or a villain like the Joker, he said.

“I’m going to use the facts to tell the story,” Gruber, 45, told the Pulse yesterday. “I’m the narrator guiding the reader through the law. It’ll have lots of pictures and text.”

Hill and Wang, a division of publishing powerhouse Farrar, Straus and Giroux, plans to release Gruber’s book, tentatively titled “Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It’s Necessary, How it Works” this fall.

It’s an unusual venture for Gruber, a brilliant Massachusetts Institute of Technology academic and a key architect of Romneycare, who spent much of the last decade telling national leaders why the American health-care system is broken, and how to fix it.

Now Gruber is breaking down the president’s 2,400-page legislation into illustrated, bite-sized panels for non-wonks who either don’t understand or don’t like the national plan.

“There’s a fundamental lack of economic security in our country,” Gruber said. “If you don’t get insurance from your employer, you are one bad gene, or one bad car accident away from losing everything.”

The graphic novel is an increasingly popular way to tell complex stories, according to Gruber’s editor Thomas LeBien, who has used the format to explain the U.S. Constitution and Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“It’s a marvelous medium,” LeBien said. “There’s a long tradition of turning to them to take complicated information and render it accessible to the widest audience.”

But when LeBien first approached Gruber last summer, the busy professor almost turned him down flat.

“I just wasn’t sure if this would be useful enough,” Gruber recalled. “Then my wife and kids said, ‘You’re crazy. You’ve got to do this.’ So I decided to give it a shot.”

Even one of the national health plan’s fiercest critics, Michael F. Cannon of the free market Cato Institute in Washington D.C., tipped his hat to Gruber’s comic book.

“I’ve got to hand it to him,” said Cannon, the think tank’s director of health policy studies. “It’s a brilliant idea.”

Gruber said he will illustrate how the president’s plan will lower health-care costs and end discriminatory insurance practices that make it much harder for sick people to get coverage.

“My family made me realize that there’s such a misunderstanding of the bill, and that it’s important to explain why we need this, and what it does,” he said. “I’ve found that when people understand it, they like it.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1315137

Barack Obama Health Care

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 05:35:46 -0800

Judge uses Obama’s words against him

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:44:45 -0800

The Washington Times

In ruling against President Obama's health care law, federal Judge Roger Vinson used Mr. Obama's own position from the 2008 campaign against him, when the then-Illinois senator argued there were other ways to achieve reform short of requiring every American to purchase insurance.

"I note that in 2008, then-Senator Obama supported a health care reform proposal that did not include an individual mandate because he was at that time strongly opposed to the idea, stating that, 'If a mandate was the solution, we can try that to solve homelessness by mandating everybody to buy a house,'" Judge Vinson wrote in a footnote toward the end of his 78-page ruling Monday.

Judge Vinson, a federal judge in the northern district of Florida, struck down the entire health care law as unconstitutional on Monday, though he is allowing the Obama administration to continue to implement and enforce it while the government appeals his ruling.

The footnote was attached to the most critical part of Judge Vinson's ruling, in which he said the "principal dispute" in the case was not whether Congress has the power to tackle health care, but rather whether it has the power to compel individual citizens to purchase insurance.

Judge Vinson cited Mr. Obama's campaign words from an interview with CNN to show that there are other options that could pass constitutional muster including then-candidate Obama's plan.

During the presidential campaign, one key difference between Mr. Obama and his chief opponent, then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, was that Mrs. Clinton's plan required all Americans to purchase insurance and Mr. Obama's did not.

Congress eventually included the individual mandate in the bill it passed, and Mr. Obama signed that into law in March. Since then, he and his administration have defended its constitutionality, arguing the mandate is the linchpin that brings in more customers to insurance companies, which in turn allows those companies to expand the availability and lower the cost of coverage.

Much of Judge Vinson's ruling was a discussion of how the Founding Fathers, including James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, saw the limits on congressional power. Judge Vinson hypothesized that, under the Obama administration's legal theory, the government could mandate that all citizens eat broccoli.

White House officials said that sort of "surpassingly curious reading" called into question Judge Vinson's entire ruling.

"There's something thoroughly odd and unconventional about the analysis," said a White House official who briefed reporters late Monday afternoon, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

McCaughey, Betsy

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 12:46:03 -0800

Betsy McCaughey is a patient advocate and former Lt. Governor of New York State. In 2004, she founded and is now Chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths (also known as RID), a nationwide educational campaign to stop hospital-acquired infections. In five years, RID has made hospital infections a major public issue. It has provided compelling evidence that preventing infection improves hospital profitability as well as saving lives, and RID has won legislation in over 25 states for public reporting of infection rates. RID has become synonymous with patient safety and clean hospital car.

Prior to entering the health policy field, Betsy McCaughey earned a Ph.D. in constitutional history from Columbia University. She is the author of two books on that subject. She has taught at Vassar College and Columbia University, and she produced prize-winning studies while at two think tanks, the Manhattan Institute and later the Hudson Institute.

From 1995 to 1998, she served as Lt. Governor of New York State. She focused on health issues, and her bills became models for legislation in many states and in Congress.

GOP to Obama: Let's Work Together

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:37:34 -0800

Today, congressional leaders will head to the White House, where Republicans will urge President Obama to heed the message sent by the American people earlier this month: cut spending, stop all the tax hikes, and help create jobs now. In an op-ed published in today’s Washington Post, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) make clear that Republicans stand ready to work with President Obama and Democratic leaders on the people’s top priorities: “Republicans got the message voters have been delivering for more than a year. That’s why we made a pledge to America to cut spending, rein in government, and permanently extend the current tax rates so small-business owners won't get hit with a massive tax hike at the end of December. …

“While Americans have been asking ‘where are the jobs?’ for more than two years, our friends across the aisle have clung for too long to the liberal wish list, including a job-killing health-care law, a ‘cap-and-trade’ national energy tax and an out-of-control spending spree. The November elections represented a wholesale rejection of these policies.

“Now we have a real chance to move away from the misplaced priorities of the past two years and work together on common-sense proposals that will build a foundation for the economic rebound we all want. …
“Together, we can focus on the things Americans want us to do - not on what government wants Americans to accept. The clock may be winding down on this session of Congress, but there is still time to do the right thing. If President Obama and Democratic leaders put forward a plan during the lame-duck session to cut spending and stop the tax hikes on all Americans, they can count on a positive response from Republicans.”

Barack Obama to Barbara Walters: 'Extraordinarily proud' of health care reform

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 10:16:10 -0800

By AMIE PARNES

President Barack Obama, in a wide-ranging, reflective interview with Barbara Walters, staunchly defended his controversial policies — including sweeping health care reforms and the massive economic stimulus package — as bold but necessary steps to help transform an economy that was at the brink of collapse into one that is "growing."

"The notion that somehow you can only do one thing at once is simply not true," Obama told Walters in the interview, which aired on ABC Friday evening. "The fact is that we stabilized the financial system. ... We turned an economy that was contracting into one that was growing. We have added a million jobs over the last year to the economy."

Boehner Challenges ObamaCare

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:52:11 -0800

WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) filed an amicus brief today challenging the constitutionality of the individual mandate at the heart of the job-killing ObamaCare law. Leader Boehner’s amicus brief was filed in support of a lawsuit brought by 20 state attorneys general and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), the nation’s largest small business association, seeking to overturn the government takeover of health care that is costing jobs, increasing costs, and jeopardizing coverage for millions of Americans.

“I’m proud to join these states and the NFIB in their ongoing effort to overturn this job-killing health care law and protect American workers from its devastating impact.” Boehner said. “ObamaCare is a job-killer, and our economy simply cannot afford this unprecedented, unconstitutional power grab by the federal government. That is why Republicans will continue standing with the American people and fighting to repeal ObamaCare and replace it with better solutions put forth in the Pledge to America to lower health care costs and protect American jobs."

In the brief, Boehner argues that - in its defense of the individual mandate - the Obama Administration has distorted the Constitution to vastly increase congressional power, compromising the integrity of the legislative process, and undermining accountability to the American people.

In August, primary voters in Missouri rejected the mandate by a nearly 2.5-to-1 margin. Two months prior to that, House Democrats in Washington voted to reject a GOP proposal to repeal the mandate.

HOW THEY VOTED

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 19:47:09 -0800

Learn how your incumbents voted on the most important issues:

PERCENTAGES OF HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES WHO VOTED WITH PELOSI/DEMOCRATS: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/111/house/party-voters/

HEALTHCARE

H.R. 3590 (PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT)Final Health Care Overhaul HOUSEhttp://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll165.xml

SENATEhttp://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00396H.R. 4872

Reconciliation Act of 2010: Final Health Care Overhaul

HOUSEhttp://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll167.xml

SENATE http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00105

H.R. 3962 Affordable Health Care for America Act (included public option):

HOUSEhttp://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll887.xml

STIMULUS/SPENDING

H.R.1 Making supplemental appropriations for fiscal year ending 2009

BILL TITLE: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

HOUSE http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll070.xml

SENATE http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00061

H.R. 1105 Omnibus Spending FY09

BILL TITLE: Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009

HOUSEhttp://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll086.xml

SENATEhttp://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00096

H.R. 3288 Omnibus Spending FY10:

BILL TITLE: Making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, HUD, and related agencies for FY 2010

HOUSEhttp://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll949.xml

SENATEhttp://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00287

S CON RES 13 BILL TITLE: Congressional Budget for Fiscal Year 2010:

HOUSEhttp://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll216.xml

SENATEhttp://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00173

HR 1424 TARP Bailout (110):

BILL TITLE: Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

HOUSE http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll681.xml

SENATE http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00213

H.R. 2454 Cap-and-Trade:

HOUSEhttp://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll477.xml

Friday October 01 2010

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 12:44:41 -0800

Wednesday August 04 2010

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:02:41 -0800

Oliver North,

Prop C Passes Overwhelmingly

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 10:56:13 -0800

Missouri voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a federal mandate to purchase health insurance, rebuking President Barack Obama's administration and giving Republicans their first political victory in a national campaign to overturn the controversial health care law passed by Congress in March.

"The citizens of the Show-Me State don't want Washington involved in their health care decisions," said Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, one of the sponsors of the legislation that put Proposition C on the August ballot. She credited a grass-roots campaign involving Tea Party and patriot groups with building support for the anti-Washington proposition.

With most of the vote counted, Proposition C was winning by a ratio of nearly 3 to 1. The measure, which seeks to exempt Missouri from the insurance mandate in the new health care law, includes a provision that would change how insurance companies that go out of business in Missouri liquidate their assets.

"I've never seen anything like it," Cunningham said at a campaign gathering at a private home in Town and Country. "Citizens wanted their voices to be heard."

Story continues here

The Growing Battle Over Berwick

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:15:12 -0800

By Hal Scherz

Even with last week's Elaine Sherrod -NAACP media uproar, the Obama administration's recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick as Medicare czar continued stirring controversy, with Senate Republicans "spoiling for a fight" and "escalating the conflict" according to the Washington Examiner's Byron York. Putting the unpopular Obamacare measure back on the political front burner just as Democratic candidates were hoping it had gone away, the administration's decision to bypass congressional committee hearings with the Berwick appointment had an angry Kansas Senator Pat Roberts introducing an "abuse of power" resolution and Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell making it pointedly clear GOP cooperation on even routine Senate business was now in question.

Beyond just the affront to democratic procedure or Senate prerogatives though, the Berwick matter offers Obamacare opponents a larger political opportunity. Recent reports and studies by the Congressional Budget Office, HHS and independent groups have discredited last winter's solemn pledges by the president and Democratic Congress that under Obamacare, everyone could keep their current insurance plan and neither the deficit nor insurance premiums would rise. Now, six months after calling Republican warnings on rationing "scare tactics," President Obama has anointed and empowered the single most passionate advocate of government medical rationing in America, thus adding the charge of cynicism to already burgeoning credibility problems of Obamacare proponents.

To continue reading please click here

Obama

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:21:40 -0800

Recess Appointment Draws Fire

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:20:24 -0800

The White House found itself on the defensive Wednesday over President Obama's recess appointment of a key official to help implement his health care overhaul plan, facing a bipartisan torrent of criticism from lawmakers who said the move short-circuits the legislative-oversight process.

In tapping Harvard Medical School professor Donald Berwick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services while lawmakers are briefly out of town, Mr. Obama sidestepped a messy confirmation battle with members of the Senate GOP - something he said was necessary, given Republicans' penchant for slow-walking his appointments.

But critics of the move, announced Tuesday evening and made official Wednesday, noted that Senate Democrats had yet to schedule a committee hearing on the nomination, and even the Democratic chairman of the panel with jurisdiction over CMS expressed dismay with the decision.

"I'm troubled that, rather than going through the standard nomination process, Dr. Berwick was recess-appointed," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, Montana Democrat. The Senate confirmation process, he added, is a check on executive power and "ensures that crucial questions are asked of the nominee - and answered."

Republicans had been sharply critical of statements on health care access and other matters made by Dr. Berwick, who will likely play a critical role as aspects of Mr. Obama's health overhaul package come into force.

63% Favor Repeal of National Health Care Plan

Mon, 24 May 2010 13:05:51 -0800

Support for repeal of the new national health care plan has jumped to its highest level ever. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 63% of U.S. voters now favor repeal of the plan passed by congressional Democrats and signed into law by President Obama in March.

Prior to today, weekly polling had shown support for repeal ranging from 54% to 58%.

Currently, just 32% oppose repeal.

The new findings include 46% who Strongly Favor repeal of the health care bill and 25% who Strongly Oppose it.

While opposition to the bill has remained as consistent since its passage as it was beforehand, this marks the first time that support for repeal has climbed into the 60s. It will be interesting to see whether this marks a brief bounce or indicates a trend of growing opposition.

To continue reading click here

Tuesday April 27 2010

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:04:45 -0800

Susan Estrich, Erick Erickson,

Friday April 02 2010

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 14:20:00 -0800

Conservative Victory Tour - Reagan Library

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:23:58 -0800

The first stop on Sean's Conservative Victory Tour was the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA.

Wednesday March 31 2010

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:47:23 -0800

Dick Morris, Bob Beckel, Brent Bozell,

Tuesday March 30 2010

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:02:30 -0800

Michael Reagan, Stuart Varney, Juan Williams,

Monday March 29 2010

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:41:24 -0800

Pat Caddell, Doug Schoen,

Friday March 26 2010

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:38:48 -0800

Stuart Varney, Juan Williams,

Thursday March 25 2010

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 11:09:14 -0800

Ann Coulter,

Wednesday March 24 2010

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:09:46 -0800

Mitch McConnell, Michael Steele,

Tuesday March 23 2010

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 05:03:03 -0800

Newt Gingrich,

Lawmaker Holds Rally For Ballot Initiative Opposing New Health Care Bill

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 05:00:42 -0800

ROYAL OAK, MI - MARCH 22: People attend a rally for a ballot initiative opposing the new federal health care bill March 22, 2010 in Royal Oak, Michigan. The initiative, sponsored by Michigan State Representative Tom McMillin, is designed to get the State of Michigan exempted from the new health care bill. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Florida says several states to file healthcare lawsuit

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 04:58:58 -0800

MIAMI, March 22 (Reuters) - Florida's attorney general will file a lawsuit with nine other state attorneys general opposing the health care legislation passed by Congress, a spokeswoman said on Monday.

"The health care reform legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last night clearly violates the U.S. Constitution and infringes on each state's sovereignty," Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican, said in a prepared statement announcing a news conference.

"On behalf of the State of Florida and of the Attorneys General from South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, Washington, North Dakota, South Dakota and Alabama if the President signs this bill into law, we will file a lawsuit to protect the rights and the interests of American citizens." (Reporting by Michael Connor, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Monday March 22 2010

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:25:51 -0800

Jay Sekulow, Michele Bachmann,

Friday March 19 2010

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:46:25 -0800

Dick Morris,

Code Red Anti-Health Care Bill Rally

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:11:11 -0800

Reconciliation Act of 2010

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:01:50 -0800

The full text of H.R. 4872 – the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 – has been released by the U.S. House Committee on Rules. This bill amends the Senate version H.R. 3590 and plans for a vote this weekend are still in place.

To read the full text of H.R. 4872 click here.

Thursday March 18 2010

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:31:18 -0800

Bret Baier, Mike Pence,

Wednesday March 17 2010

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:29:29 -0800

Pat Buchanan, John Rich,

House Republican Leaders Unveil New Health Care Ad

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:32:09 -0800

WASHINGTON - MARCH 16: (L-R) U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), House Minority Whip Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) hold a news conference to unveil a new GOP television ad against President Barack Obama's health care legislation, at National Republican Committee headquarters on March 16, 2010 in Washington, DC. Republicans also have condemned a move to pass the $875 billion health-care bill through the House without a vote that was suggested by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (Photo by Jonathan Ernst/Getty Images).

Tuesday March 16 2010

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:15:04 -0800

John Bolton, Michele Bachmann,

Monday March 15 2010

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:29:28 -0800

Marco Rubio,

Friday March 12 2010

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:30:16 -0800

Dick Morris,

Thursday March 11 2010

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:50:11 -0800

Michele Bachmann, Doug Schoen,

Wednesday March 10 2010

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:05:22 -0800

Ed Rendell,

Friday March 05 2010

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:12:57 -0800

Michele Bachmann, Pat Caddell, Ann Coulter,

Thursday March 04 2010

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:55:06 -0800

Wednesday March 03 2010

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:11:39 -0800

Jim Bunning, Peter King,

Tuesday March 02 2010

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:49:49 -0800

Stuart Varney, Mitt Romney,

Friday February 26 2010

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:44:40 -0800

Sarah Palin, Lamar Alexander,

Thursday February 25 2010

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:28:28 -0800

Dick Morris,

Tuesday February 23 2010

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:21:30 -0800

Stuart Varney, Karl Rove,

Thursday January 28 2010

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:46:33 -0800

Juan Williams, Stuart Varney, Sarah Palin,

Wednesday January 27 2010

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:42:41 -0800

Anthony Weiner,

Monday January 25 2010

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:53:24 -0800

Thursday January 21 2010

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:45:26 -0800

Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin,

Scott Brown Victory

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:55:00 -0800

BOSTON - JANUARY 19: Balloons and confetti fall as U.S. Senator-elect, Republican Scott Brown celebrates winning the Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat January 19, 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts. Brown defeated Democrat Martha Coakley in a special election to fill the seat of late U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy. (Photo by Robert Spencer/Getty Images)

Scott Brown Wins In Massachusetts

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:52:37 -0800

From Politico.com:

Scott Brown has turned this town upside down.

Usually, the tendency among political reporters and operatives alike is to overreact and overinterpret elections. And there are caveats to the stunner in Massachusetts. Yes, this was a special election, which often produces unusual results. Yes, Democrat Martha Coakley ran a timid, sometimes terrible, campaign for Ted Kennedy’s old Senate seat. And it’s true that Massachusetts is not as liberal as many people assumed.

Continue Story Here

Tuesday January 19 2010

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 06:31:41 -0800

Karl Rove, Pat Caddell, Ann Coulter, Ed Rendell, Rudy Giuliani,

Friday January 15 2010

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:38:37 -0800

Jake Tapper,

Monday January 11 2010

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:10:38 -0800

Friday January 08 2010

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 09:51:16 -0800

Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani,

Thursday January 07 2010

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:48:47 -0800

Stuart Varney, Dick Morris, Juan Williams,

Buchanan, Vern

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:37:13 -0800

Vernon G. "Vern" Buchanan (born May 8, 1951) is a Republican Congressman representing Florida's 13th congressional district.

Rep. Vern Buchanan

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:35:17 -0800

Wednesday January 06 2010

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:28:44 -0800

Sarah Palin, Vern Buchanan,

Tuesday January 05 2010

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:53:54 -0800

Scott Brown,

Drug Safety

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:28:22 -0800

New York City-funded Guidebook for Heroin Use

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:18:39 -0800

NEW YORK (AP) -- A New York City-funded guidebook for heroin users offers information on how to prepare drugs carefully and how to care for veins to avoid infection.

The state's top official with the Drug Enforcement Administration calls it a "step-by-step instruction on how to inject a poison."

DEA Special Agent-In-Charge John Gilbride says the handout is "very disturbing."

View the Guidebook Here (PDF)

But Mayor Bloomberg defends the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's decision to print the pamphlets.

"I would certainly not reccomend to anyone that they use hard drugs or soft drugs," he said. "But our health department does have an interest in if you're going to do certain things to get you to do it as healthily as you possibly can."

The department printed about 70,000 copies of the handout.

Monday January 04 2010

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:01:55 -0800

Michael Steele,

Tuesday December 29 2009

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:22:21 -0800

Pat Caddell, Ann Coulter,

Monday December 28 2009

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:37:29 -0800

Dave Reichert, Michelle Malkin,

Friday December 25 2009

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:12:24 -0800

Thursday December 24 2009

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:08:25 -0800

Pence, Mike

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:49:43 -0800

Michael Richard "Mike" Pence (born June 7, 1959) is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Indiana's 6th congressional district. He currently serves as Chairman of the House Republican Conference (caucus) for the 111th United States Congress. Pence's district covers much of Eastern Indiana.

Tuesday December 22 2009

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:26:28 -0800

Pat Caddell,

Monday December 21 2009

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:05:34 -0800

Michele Bachmann, Ann Coulter, Mitch McConnell,

Friday December 18 2009

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:45:53 -0800

Mark Levin,

Boehner, John

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:00:34 -0800

John Andrew Boehner (born November 17, 1949) is a conservative Republican American politician who is currently serving as the House Minority Leader in the 111th Congress. He serves as a U.S. Representative from Ohio's 8th congressional district, which includes several rural and suburban areas near Cincinnati and Dayton and a small portion of Dayton itself.

Rep. John Boehner

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:58:51 -0800

United States House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)

Thursday December 17 2009

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:03:32 -0800

John Boehner, Karl Rove,

Pelosi: No Health Deal This Year

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:35:04 -0800

Speaker Nancy Pelosi predicted Wednesday that job creation and deficit reduction will be the central Democratic themes for the coming year – and that public support for health care reform will rebound once a bill has been sent to President Barack Obama.

On the divisive issue of Afghanistan, the California Democrat ducked the question of how she would vote on increased war funding: “Let’s see what they request,” she said. But she has urged her party, including old allies on the anti-war left, to listen and give some “room” to Obama, recognizing that the president had been “dealt a very bad hand because there was no plan in Afghanistan for years.”

Pelosi made her comments at a year-end roundtable with reporters where she described herself as back in full “campaign mode” and confident House Democrats will retain “a strong majority” after the 2010 elections.

Continue Story at Politico.com

Wednesday December 16 2009

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:32:15 -0800

Tom Coburn, Jim DeMint,

DeMint, Jim

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:28:37 -0800

James Warren "Jim" DeMint (born September 2, 1951) has been a U.S. Senator from South Carolina since 2005. He had previously represented South Carolina's 4th congressional district from 1999 to 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Coburn, Tom

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:27:11 -0800

Thomas Allen "Tom" Coburn, M.D. (born March 14, 1948), is an American politician, medical doctor, and ordained deacon. A member of the Republican Party, he currently serves as the junior U.S. Senator from Oklahoma.

'Last Chance' For Health Reform

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:34:02 -0800

In a provocative argument designed to rescue his foundering health care plan, President Barack Obama will warn Senate Democrats in a White House meeting Tuesday that this is the "last chance" to pass comprehensive reform.

Obama will contend that if it fails now, no other president will attempt it, aides said.

White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer told POLITICO: "If President Obama doesn't pass health reform, it’s hard to imagine another president ever taking on this Herculean task. For those whose life's work is reforming health care, this may be the last train leaving the station."

Story Continues On Politico.com

Tuesday December 15 2009

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:21:03 -0800

John McCain,

Joe Lieberman

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:17:53 -0800

U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT) speaks to the media prior to the weekly policy committee luncheon December 8, 2009 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Key members for the Senate version of the Health Care Reform Bill are still goi

Tuesday December 08 2009

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:48:27 -0800

Michael Steele,

Tuesday December 01 2009

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:45:06 -0800

Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee,

Michael Steele

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:44:51 -0800