We are told that ObamaCare will bring down costs and reduce the budget deficit and all these other wonderful things. Supporters of the bill need only look to Massachusetts to see how wrong they are in those claims.

Massachusetts Treasurer Tim Cahill, a Democrat turned independent, says the health care reform law that passed in his state in 2006 is breaking the budget. He also took some shots at health care "reform" efforts on the national level, which are very similar to the Massachusetts plan:

"If President Obama and the Democrats repeat the mistake of the health insurance reform here in Massachusetts on a national level, they will threaten to wipe out the American economy within four years,” Cahill said in a press conference in his office.

Echoing criticism leveled by congressional Republicans in recent weeks, Cahill said, “It is time for the president, the Democratic leadership, to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new plan that does not threaten to bankrupt this country.”
[...]
Cahill said the law is being sustained only with the help of federal aid, which he suggested that the Obama administration is funneling to Massachusetts to help the president make the case for a similar plan in Congress.

“The real problem is the sucking sound of money that has been going in to pay for this health care reform,” Cahill said. “And I would argue that we’re being propped up so that the federal government and the Obama administration can drive it through” Congress.

Commonwealth Connector, the independent state agency established to help residents find the health insurance, has “totally failed,” to create competition and connect people with affordable insurance, Cahill said, pointing out that 68 percent of the residents it serves receive subsidized care.

“We haven’t done anything about driving down costs,” Cahill said. “We haven’t helped small business. We haven’t changed the way we pay for health care and the way we deliver it.”

As Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute noted in my podcast with him a couple weeks ago, the failures of the Massachusetts plan are apparent. Get ready for a catastrophe with ObamaCare.

Posted by Jason at 11:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you want the latest news on the debate over ObamaCare in the House, check out my post over at United Liberty. I'm covering everything that is being discussed.

Posted by Jason at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The folks over at C-SPAN have come up with a way to waste more of my time, launching a website containing every show that has aired since 1987.

Of course, none of the health care negotiations we were promised by President Barack Obama will be on the website. However, they do provide us with a list of memorable moments over the last 23 years that shaped American politics and changed the world, for better or for worse.

Posted by Jason at 07:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Moody's says that the the United States is a step closer to having its credit rating downgraded:

The U.S. and the U.K. have moved “substantially” closer to losing their AAA credit ratings as the cost of servicing their debt rose, according to Moody’s Investors Service.
[...]
Under the ratings company’s so-called baseline scenario, the U.S. will spend more on debt service as a percentage of revenue this year than any other top-rated country except the U.K., and will be the biggest spender from 2011 to 2013, Moody’s said today in a report.

“We expect the situation to further deteriorate in terms of the key ratings metrics before they start stabilizing,” Cailleteau said. “This story is not going to stop at the end of the year. There is inertia in the deterioration of credit metrics.”

The sad state of things is that there is no indication that spending habits are going to be scaled back. As we've pointed out here at UL before, the CBO recently reported that the budget deficits over the next ten years will add $9.8 trillion to the national debt.

As recently noted, the longer term picture is even worse. If our credit rating is downgraded, it means the cost of servicing debt will cost more due to the increased risk of loaning us money.

The cost of Washington's fiscal irresponsibility is destroying this country.

Posted by Jason at 07:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The guys over at The Liberty Papers have a college basketball bracket running for March Madness. I despise basketball, but despite that, I'll be playing. You should too.

Posted by Jason at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Despite some claims to the contrary, it looks like Democrats are still ten votes short on the 216 votes needed to pass ObamaCare.

The Hill has a running tally of how many Democrats are firm "no" votes or leaning "no." You can check that out here. If you want this bill to die, CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TODAY.

Posted by Jason at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It looks like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will force a final vote on ObamaCare this week despite the fact that the public wants Washington focus on other priorities, such as jobs and the economy, and without the support of pro-life Democrats. The House Budget Committee released the 2,309 page bill on its website last night and a final vote is expected by Sunday.

President Barack Obama even delayed an overseas trip by a few days in anticipation of the vote. No doubt he will be involved in the arm twisting of on-the-fence members.

Some Republicans, such as Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), are warning that reconciliation shouldn't be the focus of the opposition against the bill because if the House passes the Senate version, it's game, set, match. If you want to get an idea of the process that will take place, check out this post from Jamie Dupree.

Despite the bump that White House advisor David Axelrod expects passage of ObamaCare to help Democrats in November, which is nothing more than wishful thinking, many Democratic candidates across the country aren't even willing to talk about the issue:

Of the 26 leading Democratic House candidates contacted by The Hill, only one would commit to voting for the Senate healthcare bill if and when it comes to the House floor.

Out of the more than two dozen Democratic challengers and open-seat House candidates, only 10 commented for this story. Eight outright declined to comment.
Eight more didn’t respond to several days’ worth of requests via phone and e-mail.

It's clear that as of today, Democrats do not have the votes. That doesn't mean they won't eventually be successful, but the magic number is 38, that's how many Democrats have to buck party leadership and vote against ObamaCare. It's going to be close, so CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE NOW.

If and when this comes for a final vote, we'll be watching and likely live-blogging. So stay tuned for coverage and daily updates.

Posted by Jason at 09:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Strategic Vision is out with its first poll on the Georgia gubernatorial race since September, and since the controversy surrounding the polling firms' methods came to light.

You can view the full poll here. The margin of error is 3.5%. No crosstabs are available for the poll, which was one of the criticisms of the firm. The race for Insurance Commissioner was also polled.

GOP Primary for Governor
- Oxendine: 29.8%
- Handel: 17.0%
- Deal: 12.8%
- Johnson: 8.5%
- Scott: 2.1%
- McBerry: 1.9%
- Chapman: 0.4%
- Undecided: 27.4%

Here is a look at overall polling in the GOP primary (click to enlarge):

Democratic Primary for Governor
- Barnes: 43.9%
- Baker: 21.8%
- Poythress: 2.4%
- Porter: 2.1%
- Camon: 1.2%
- Undecided: 28.5%

Here is a look at overall polling in the Dem primary (click to enlarge):

Posted by Jason at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It seems that President Barack Obama is making a push on cap-and-trade (but don't call it that), which has been stalled in the Senate since last year:

Closed-door talks extended to both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue yesterday as President Obama, key senators and industry officials searched for an elusive agreement on comprehensive energy and climate change legislation.

At the White House, Obama implored 14 Democrats and Republicans to reach consensus before the end of this year on a bill that puts a first-ever price on carbon emissions, rather than settle for the energy-only approach favored by some moderates.
[...]
Those talks occupied 70 minutes of Obama's time as eight Democrats and six Republicans went around the Cabinet Room describing their demands. Obama opened the meeting by insisting the Senate stick to his plan to cap greenhouse gas emissions, and in return pledged to make concessions on oil and gas drilling and nuclear power.

You have to wonder if this is his back up plan on getting a major part of his domestic agenda passed in case health care falls apart. While not as much of a hot button issue like health care, cap-and-trade could easily turn into a damaging issue back home for Democrats in Republican-leaning district. In other words, it's their funeral.

Posted by Jason at 06:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Did you know that in order to balance the federal budget tax rates would have to significantly rise. Check out this fiscal fact from the Tax Foundation.

Posted by Jason at 06:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Despite the fact that operations at the Golf Hall of Fame in Augusta has been closed for a couple years now, the state continues to pay for the misguided venture. Now some legislators want to sell the property of the monument to government waste to the city for $1:

In the midst of a budget crisis, state government will spend almost $500,000 this year to continue paying off a monument to golf that was never built.

Now two Georgia senators want the state to give the 17-acre Golf Hall of Fame property to the city of Augusta for $1, even though state taxpayers will be paying that $500,000 in debt service until April 2015.

Other lawmakers denounce the idea and say it’s frustrating that the state has to continue paying off bonds on the vacant, weedy land at a time when they are furloughing teachers and cutting public health programs.
[...]
Some Augusta leaders, including Mayor Deke Copenhaver, are hoping the hall property can be re-developed as an entertainment center, complete with a baseball park for the city’s minor-league team. Copenhaver and the team’s co-owner, baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., have talked with Perdue about the plans.

Davis said he filed his bill to “get the conversation started” about what to do with the property. He said not everyone is behind the downtown baseball stadium proposal. “You’ve got to have all the key stakeholders at the table,” he said. “We’ve got to do something, and that’s what I’m committed to.”

Bert Brantley, the governor’s spokesman, said it would be illegal for the state to sell the Golf Hall of Fame property for $1. That would be a gift, which is unconstitutional. What price the state can get for the property, especially in this down economy, is unclear. The longer the site sits unsold and unused, the longer taxpayers will keep paying for it. State taxpayers are still on the hook for $2.85 million in debt service.

“If you ask anybody to prioritize the core functions of government, I don’t think hall of fames would make anybody’s top 10,” he said. “Many would argue, as we would, that it’s very questionable whether the state should be involved in this.”

For example, from FY 2004 to FY 2008 the Music Hall of Fame, which will receive $539,311 in FY 2011 if Gov. Sonny Perdue has his way (FY 2011 budget, page 17), lost $272,532 despite receiving almost $4 million in subsidies. Over the same period, the Sports Hall of Fame received $3.7 million in subsidies, but lost $171,301. However, it will receive another $471,684 in subsidies from the state in FY 2011.

There are some folks that believe government should provide these things, however, it's irresponsible for legislators to continue to fund these ventures that could reasonably and more efficiently be provided by private interests.

Posted by Jason at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After putting it off for a month or so, I finally got around to updating the lists for statewide and congressional candidates running in Georgia in 2010.

The lists are based off of filings with the Ethics Commission and Federal Election Commission and press releases I've received from various candidates. I also got some information off of Politics1.com.

If you see a candidate that isn't listed, drop me a line.

Posted by Jason at 03:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My friend Loren Collins wasn't happy with Rep. Paul Broun's answer to my question about Barack Obama's birth certificate from the recent podcast:

Jason provided Broun with a chance to clear the air on this, asking him straightforwardly, "Do you believe the President's citizenship is in question?" Broun's response to that yes/no question was an unfocused three-minute-long ramble that discussed everything from health care to Argentina. Broun claimed that he is not questioning Obama's citizenship ("because I've not gotten engaged in all that"), but wraps up by saying:

"That's what I said when I was asked: I don't know, nobody knows for sure, we've not seen any documentation one way or the other."
[...]
Thus, Broun's claim that "we've not seen any documentation" can mean only one of two things. One possibility is that he is ignorant of all of this evidence. I find this doubtful, considering that in the same interview, Broun acknowledges his familiarity with the questions that others have been asking. In any case, he's only promoting an image of ignorance if he's claiming to be unaware of the birth certificate that has been available online for almost two years.

The other possibility is that Broun is aware of the existence of this evidence, but for some reason, does not consider it to be decisive "one way or the other." Is Broun expressing doubt as to the authenticity or reliability of the available evidence? Does he subscribe to the conspiracist view that Obama's family and/or the state of Hawaii have been engaged in a conspiracy to cover up a non-Hawaiian birth? Is he suggesting that the evidence should be doubted in the face of baseless online rumor? What does Broun mean by this obvious falsehood?

Posted by Jason at 08:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Shortly after my write up on HB 418, the Prescription Drug Monitoring Act, I got word that the Senate Health and Human Services Committee heard the bill that morning. It wasn't on the agenda, but apparently it was brought forward at the discretion of Chairman Don Thomas.

I have no details about what was said during the hearing, but the committee decided to refer it to subcommittee. However, the make up of the subcommittee (thanks to Todd Rehm for giving me a heads up on this) is lopsided based on last year's vote on HB 614. Of the five members, only Sen. Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville) voted for it. Hawkins is also one of the signers on SB 418.

The other members of the subcommittee, Sen. Judson Hill (R-Marietta), Sen. Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta) Sen. Preston Smith (R-Rome) and Sen. John Wiles (R-Kennesaw), all voted against it on the floor last year.

WSB Radio reported yesterday evening that the legislation raised eyebrows as some Senators were concerned that it smacked of Big Brother. Of course, that is a warranted concern considering what the bill does, such as a building a database that will hold private medical information of Georgians with absolutely without authorities having to obtain a warrant.

The bill is far from dead, there is a substitute ready for presentation, but concerns about privacy are being heard.

Posted by Jason at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

On Wednesday, I spoke to Liz Carter, a Republican running in Georgia's Fourth Congressional District, which is currently held by Rep. Hank Johnson (D).

Carter is running her campaign on jobs and the economy and national security, an area where she feels Johnson has been especially disappointing . We also discuss health care, her support of the FairTax and briefly discuss free trade.

You can download the podcast here (just under 21 minutes/19MB, right click, "Save File As" to download).

In the next podcast, I'll be chatting with John Monds, a Libertarian candidate Governor.

If you have a candidate, no matter what party, that you would like for me to interview or questions that you would like for me to ask an upcoming guest, please drop me a line on Facebook or send an e-mail.

Posted by Jason at 07:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)