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Subscribe to RSSPer the Washington Post, “House Republicans have set Jan. 12 as their day to vote on a repeal of President Obama's health-care law, after a midterm election in which they campaigned against the landmark legislation as a government takeover of the health industry.”
"As newly-elected Republican governors plot ways to push back against the healthcare law, the Republican Governor's Association (RGA) is preparing an organized effort aimed at helping governors fight its implementation," The Hill reports. "In an interview with Ballot Box, new RGA Executive Director Phil Cox said he anticipates the committee will play a central role in organizing Republican governors against the law — an effort he said is currently in the planning stages."
The DCCC is releasing this memo today: “What a difference a couple of months make. During the 2010 campaigns, House Republican candidates affiliated with the Tea Party ran strongly against “government health care.” Most Republican Freshman are refusing to say whether they will accept government funded health care as a Member of Congress. A few Members-elect have honored their campaign rhetoric by refusing to accept congressional health care."
More: "Despite their campaign rhetoric and public opinion, most incoming Republican Freshman will not say whether they will accept government health care. Their silence can only mean one thing: Republican Freshman will hypocritically take government funded health care even though they ran campaigns against it."
Debt ceiling 'showdown' looms: "Tea Party champion Sen. Jim DeMint says he's ready for a 'showdown' with President Obama over raising the government debt ceiling," the New York Post writes. "DeMint's threat is setting up a high-stakes game of chicken on Capitol Hill with Republicans demanding stark spending cuts before they consider raising the debt limit and Democrats warning that a failure to do so would trash the country's credit rating and risk a government shutdown." DeMint told the conservative Human Events magazine: "This needs to be a big showdown. Enough is enough, folks. We can't keep taking home the bacon and take care of the best interests of our country."
A “lavish fundraiser scheduled for Tuesday night at a trendy Washington hotel to benefit a dozen GOP freshmen is not exactly the populist image leaders are anxious to project,” Politico writes.
The New York Daily News profiles Rep. Pete King (R-NY): The GOP takeover of the House on Wednesday offers liberal New York one bright spot: Long Islander Pete King takes control of the powerful Homeland Security Committee. The Nassau County Republican is already making it a 'major priority' to steer as much federal cash as possible to the city's anti-terror operations."
"Rep. Heath Shuler plans to vote for himself rather than Rep. Nancy Pelosi during Wednesday’s floor vote for Speaker, and he predicted Monday that Democratic colleagues who are similarly displeased with her past leadership as Speaker would back him as well," Roll Call writes.
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I read the story about Rep. Heath Shuler planing to vote for himself rather than Rep. Nancy Pelosi during Wednesday's floor vote for Speaker. I thought it was old news. This is why Democrats are called weak.
So, what"s not in the Pledge? A balanced budget, for one.
Despite Demanding 'Bipartisan Discussions' On Health Reform, Republicans To Vote On Repeal Without Hearings
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/01/03/rnc-repeal-hearings/
All i can say is if they take this vote..... i expect to see" their "better health care plan that includes a public option...if not they are toast in 2012 ..The weeper of the housee better think long and hard about what they are intending to do ...Also the debt ceiling if they vote to raise it they are toast ....talk about the real problems not play games ....We expect them to announce the end of war funding by March ... if not they are toast ...and de fund the pentagon all of these are total wastes of the tax payers money !
America is watching and we will have "OUR" say in 2012 !!!!
Crank up the PR machine. This stuff should make excellent dem election ads in 2012. Show all these GOPers trying to take away health care benefits.
Where do they keep coming up with 'government takeover'? United Healthcare, Wellpoint, and hundreds of others seem to still be issuing policies and collecting premiums. What is it about 'buzz-phrases' that can't be dealt with in an honest manner??
The MSM legitimizes this non-sense everytime they fail to challenge the idiot that utters the term "government takeover" without challenging it's validity.
Can't wait until the Medicare Beneficiaries get wind of what the "repeal" will mean to them personally when they get a clue that the 50% benefit when they reach the donut hole in the PART D Rx Drug progam would be eliminated.
A large segment of the electorate is ignorant regarding HCR. They simply repeat what they hear on FOXNews and Rush Limbaugh not realizing how it benefits them!
The same Republicans who saw nothing wrong with busting the budget with the enactment of the PART D Rx Program now want to castigate the President for expanding healthcare to the uninsured.
Can you spell hyprocrite? Yes! Republican.
Sheila;
Have you ever thought that maybe a large portion of the electorate UNDERSTANDS and still do not LIKE IT.
Just because you have an OPINION does not make it everyone's.
Nothing hypocritical about disliking something.
So, according to inthemiddle, when Republicans create an unfunded, debt increasing, unpaid for, government increasing social program, its O.K.
Why are Republicans like inthemiddle so hypocritical?
1. The reps claimed earlier : Are you listening to people ?
The biggest concern about the economy is a job market, (according to CNN polling, voters said that unemployment is roughly twice as important as all other top issues combined.)
(a) The reps do not know how to create jobs, they just have a bunch of general vague ideas that are good for TV spots and adds, but no detailed plans except to go back to business as usual. So all they can do is grandstand and complain and moan. That is a lot easer that actually coming up with ideas that work.
(b) So even though the reps KNOW they can't overturn the new healthcare law, they are going to waste time and money making more NOISE about it just to stir up their base for the 2012 election. It's not like there's anything else for them to do.
And the reps are the first to point and cry about government waste while at the same time they are wasting tax payer money doing it.
2. The reps claimed earlier : Are you listening to people ?
(a) The vast majority of the PEOPLE wanted the public option that the House passed and a majority of the Senate favored, but it couldn't get past the Republican filibuster.
Many voters who oppose the law actually want stronger provisions, not weaker. There remains strong majority support for the public option and stronger laws against industry price-fixing.
(b) The healthcare law will not be repealed. Attempts to repeal healthcare reform will be a big loser for Republicans. Some of the most vehement Republicans pushing for repeal will find their seats endangered in 2012 because of it.
3. The reps are chanting the deficit cut.
(a) Inaction cost, $9trillion over the next decade. Without ACA, health costs will skyrocket, leading to more personal, corporate, and governmental bankruptcy.
(b) The insurers set up a monopoly via consolidation violating an anti-trust law.
(c) The biggest 10 healthcare providers are driven mostly to please Wall Street and must show growing profits every three months in their reports to wall Street or their stocks values go down. So healthcare prices climb at an unreasonable rate at the expense of everyone involved.