How do you fix problems when half the government obstructs everything you try to do? Are really that thick in the head... oh, thats right, you enjoy all the toxic right wing behavior. Todays GOP is the biggest problem this country faces! And as many problems this country has right now, the American people are finally opening their eyes and seeing how badly they have behaved. Even with a bad economy, Obama will be re-elected!

I'm not so sure they ARE opening their eyes Susan. Polls still show Obama and Romney to be a close race.

Ummm, we haven't even got through the Iowa caucuses yet, much less all the other primaries across the country. Let us not bet the rent money yet on Romney even being the nominee. I do however, believe the GOP establishment will do everything in their power to see that he does end up the nominee. It is hard to imaging yet another silver spoon rich boy giving a damn about the working people of this country! You see, there are alot more of us than millionaires like Willard. Time will tell...

The debt crisis is a deliberate creation of the GOP over 30 years! See above!!

Did you get lost?

I don't really like politics much either Sherbud but the right is so incredibly extreme and dangerous, and so many Americans are ready to destroy their own country by enabling them, it's too fascinating not to watch.

I know I just don't understand why so many politicians have to lie and to dumb crap. We need an honest person in office whose willing to put our country and people 1st, not to make money for themselves...before people start commenting, I'm not pointing fingers, I'm just saying that as a whole.

These days, if you don't think Obama is a muslim terrorist and don't want to force women to bear their rapist's children, you aren't conservative!

Actually Joseph,

There was a bipartisan agreement over the payroll tax in the Senate. But, as usally the house held things up. J. Bonehead was pretty forced to take care of business. Of course, that was proceded by the usual GOP grand standing. Again, the right wing brand of stupid and hateful is toxic to this country! It is not necessary you agree.

Exactly Susan, Joseph, you really can't see that it is the TPers in the house who won't allow the conservatives to come to the middle?

Well that is just weak and pathetic! Some spines and other parts need to be grown by those who were elected to represent the PEOPLE! These arrogant jerks forget they are suppose to work for us!

Susanmarie,

Wasn't the house bill passed first,and then sent on to the Senate?? Whatever happened to it?? Was it discussed and voted on?? And wasn't that House bill for an extension of one year as Obama requested??

Now we have to go through all this again in three months?? Who's the obstructionist??

Get it?? One year vs. three months??

Apparently, the whole picture escapes you, Joe! Have your eyes and ears been open at all for the past ten years?! Toxic.

I hope you are right about that poll, Love, all the polls I have seen show Obama and Romney very close in the general.

Gotcha Love and politics.

What do you think the National JEP poll is?? It's the Joseph E. Parent poll......where I ask myself what I think. That's the poll. LOL

So true RL. If elected the GOP will finish this country off.

Love and politics,

You just described why you will never be rich. "a fool and his/her money are soon parted"

Who cares?

flash bang pop pop! Oh what a relief it is! My goat tops your cwazy wabbit wad boy!

Ron Paul --- The Rip Van Winkle of Big Government,,,, He hasn't done anything for libertarians in 35 years

Not even "Libertarians" like Paul's crazy ideas

Wow C_D_J,

Very classy post. About what I would expect from the libs I guess.

May not have been classy, but it was very true!

Joseph,,,, The 1st Amendment doesn't just apply for conservatives no matter what they've told you

Your problem is pandemic among conservatives ---- You are afraid of the truth

OBAMA/BIDEN 2012 ---- The team that really cares for America's Families & not just the rich

Yea! The United States Constitution and All Amendments apply to everyone in the World, according to the Liberals. You Liberals are a pathetic bunch of posters.

Want to be rich?.......... Work for it you lazy low-lifes! Do you know the word "Work?" Or do you want a Government hand out? Have your Obama ask China for another loan. He's good at spending money we don't have. Some of you here are sooo stupid!

Teresa,,,, Why are you here?

Go over to Fox News, we know they can't be biased. After all it was created just for conservatives wasn't it?

That was the news that conservatives wanted to hear & how they wanted to hear it if I recall

Ahh, Teresa, please do not tell be you think Fox has fair and accurate reporting! Too many wings nuts use those hacks as their only source of info. If that is the case for you, you are missing out on a whole lot of information!

Where are you getting I am get my info from FOX when I have made it plain I am waiting for Keith Olbermann on CURRENT to be back as the only person I trust as a true voice for PROGRESSIVES: since the rest of our media is all corporate owned by the fat cats ,incuding MSN which is WHY they show nothing but these losers 24/7 and our PResident barely gets MENTION. I got to Current TV for fair, accurate reporting of what is reall going on in these pathetic deals as so much is not shown to is and we know it. Sure wish We could a HUGE Occupy group there to be at everyone of the liar tents and mike check em ALL!!!!

Susanmarie,

You need to put your brain in gear before you start to type. Use the spellchecker, and review what you have written. Yes, every time. That's a good girl. Otherwise, you come across as just another ignorant liberal.

You can't honestly say that Fox News like Paul,, can you? They'v been attacking him worst

It was so hot in L.A. today with all the car burnings, that the squirrels were grabbing their nuts with oven mitts.

The GOP is already issuing a "Mandate" that every conservative vote for who the party nominates

And conservative bitch at too much government control? ---- They are in for a rude Revelation on a Biblical scale!

Jim-372206

The GOP is already issuing a "Mandate" that every conservative vote for who the party nominates

And conservative bitch at too much government control? ---- They are in for a rude Revelation on a Biblical scale!

Really? and how are they going to do that? I've voted mostly 3rd party over the past 40 years.

Yes, we are headed towards too much govt control with Obama and the rest of the Stalinist Democrats.

Red Tape Rising: Obama’s Torrent of New Regulation

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/10/red-tape-rising-obamas-torrent-of-new-regulation

Most Americans are painfully aware of the amount of taxes they pay. Money deducted from their paychecks, charges added at the cash register and to each restaurant bill, and checks written to the IRS serve as a constant reminder of the price of government programs. Total government revenue and spending is routinely added up and debated. Yet, explicit taxes and spending are only part of the total burden that government places on Americans. The rest comes in the form of hidden taxes imposed by government regulations. These "regulatory taxes" appear on no budget or balance sheet, but are very real--costing Americans an estimated $1 trillion or more each year.

These costs are increasing. In fiscal year 2009, new regulations costing more than $13 billion per year were adopted by the Bush and Obama Administrations, the highest annual total since 1992.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/03/red-tape-rising-regulation-in-the-obama-era

Below is a comprehensive list of the two dozen new or higher taxes that pay for Obamcare’s expansion of government spending and interference between doctors and patients.

http://www.atr.org/comprehensive-list-tax-hikes-obamacare-a5758

Overall, Obamacare has increased government control of Americans’ health care choices and limited consumer choice. The more than 1,000 waivers already granted tacitly acknowledge that Obamacare’s “benefits” are not worth its costs.

Obamacare has increased government control of Americans’ health care choices, raised the cost of insurance, forced insurers to stop offering child-only policies, broken the promise that an individual can keep his insurance unaltered, and bailed out underfunded union early-retiree health care plans.

One year later, mandating certain benefits has raised the cost of providing insurance, and this higher cost has been passed on to policyholders in the form of higher premiums. For example, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon has attributed 3.4 percentage points of its 17.1 percent rate increase to Obamacare, while Celtic Insurance Company in Wisconsin and North Carolina has attributed 9 percentage points of its 18 percent rate increase to Obamacare.[5]

Obamacare has resulted in insurance companies exiting markets, thereby reducing consumer choice. Joshua Raskin, an analyst at Barclays Capital, has noted that it “is harder and harder for smaller plans to compete in a more regulated environment.”[14] Shortly after Obamacare was enacted, Principal Financial Group, which provided insurance to over 800,000 people, decided to stop selling health insurance. The company’s decision reflected its assessment of its ability to compete in the environment created by the law, which Principal believes harms relatively small insurers that lack “significant concentration in any one market.”[15]

This regulation was well publicized because McDonald’s 30,000 employees with mini-med plans were at risk of losing coverage because of a low MLR, even with the waiver from annual limits on the plan. McDonald’s mini-med plan incurs significant administrative costs because of the high turnover rates among its employees.[16] The MLR regulation published on December 1, 2010, exempted mini-med plans from the requirement for 2011 by requiring them to meet only half of the “official” MLR. The regulation requires that these plans must submit certain figures to HHS, which HHS will use to determine whether or not to extend the waiver in 2012 and 2013.[17]

HHS expects 20 states eventually to apply for MLR waivers.[18] As of March 14, 2011, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Nevada, and New Hampshire have applied for waivers, and Maine has been granted a waiver.[19]

During the debate, President Obama repeatedly assured Americans that Obamacare would not affect individuals who were satisfied with their current health insurance. Current insurance plans were supposed to be “grandfathered in” and thus protected from the numerous mandates and regulations in the health care law. In theory, an insurance plan that gains grandfathered status is not subject to the new requirements, so a plan that was offered before Obamacare could still be offered after the law’s passage.

The Administration has estimated that 49 percent to 80 percent of small-employer plans, 34 percent to 67 percent of large-employer plans, and 40 percent to 67 percent of individual insurance coverage will not be grandfathered by the end of 2013.[21] Even the unaffected plans are subject to HHS’s wide discretion to deem changes in policies unacceptable. Former HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation John Hoff has written that “the Administration [can] decide on an ad hoc basis, and without standards, which changes a plan can make and still remain grandfathered.”

The Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services initially estimated that 375,000 individuals would enroll in the Obamacare high-risk pools by the end of 2010.[31] At the time, it was thought that the $5 billion set aside for Obamacare’s high-risk pools would be grossly inadequate. The high-risk pools may be operated by the states or the federal government, and 27 states chose to create their own risk pools. The federal government set up the risk pools in the remaining 23 states.

As of February 2011, approximately 12,500 people (roughly 3 percent of the initial estimate) had obtained coverage through Obamacare’s high-risk pools.[32] The underwhelming enrollment suggests two explanations.

• Experts may have significantly overestimated how many Americans were without insurance because of a preexisting condition, or

• Despite generous premiums for the high-risk pool (well under the actuarially fair amount),[33] individuals either still cannot afford the premium or are simply not interested in obtaining insurance through the high-risk pool.

Obamacare provides a $250 rebate to Medicare beneficiaries who fall into Part D coverage gaps (the “doughnut” hole). After paying an annual deductible of $310, seniors on Medicare Part D (the prescription drug benefit) pay 25 percent of the cost of their prescription drugs until the total bill reaches $2,830. Above $2,830, enrollees pay the full cost of their prescription drug bill until total out-of-pocket spending reaches $4,550. At that point, catastrophic coverage kicks in and enrollees pay only 5 percent of the remainder of the bill for the rest of the year. The National Council on the Aging estimates about 4 million people fall into the doughnut hole each year.[39]

One year later, HHS estimates that only 3 million people[40] of the more than 46 million individuals on Medicare received rebate checks in 2010.[41] This means that the $250 rebate cost taxpayers about $750 million in 2010.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/03/obamacare-the-one-year-checkup

Larry, you must be the cut and paste champion. Just come out and say that you absolutely HATE Obama. Just say it. Your not fooling anyone with your drivel anyway.

There is a whole lot more he would like to do.... research folks. Tread carefully, look for the bigger agenda!

OK, I'll bite. A few questions about Ron Paul:

1. What will Ron Paul do to ensure that state governments do not infringe upon individual rights and liberties, given that he seems intent on removing Federal protections for the same? I mean, let's accept that Ron Paul is not a racist or a bigot or a homophobe. Why do racists, bigots, and homophobes like his agenda so much? And if his agenda empowers racists, bigots and homophobes, then isn't that something inherently wrong with it?

2. Doesn't Ron Paul want to end the dollar as we know it? If he does take us back to a gold standard and eliminates the dollar as a world reserve currency, then what will protect Americans from global fluctuations in commodity prices like gold and oil which are far more prone to bubble/burst scenarios than major currencies?

3. What will Ron Paul do to actually fix the economy? By fix, I specifically mean get it growing at an increased pace that creates enough jobs to lower the unemployment rate significantly. Ending the Fed, returning to the gold standard, and slashing federal spending are all unlikely to help the overall economy grow or to create jobs. Paul's proposals really are more like economic armageddon: blow the entire system up and start over. Or rather, let completely unregulated private banks and corporations start over and just trust that they'll do all the right things.

Ron Paul wants to return power to the states yes. There is more freedom at the state level than there is at Federal government. The states do not have the right to infringe upon the peoples freedoms or liberties. If the states tried something like that not only would they have to answer to the Federal government but also to the people of their state and the rest of the population for it. He does not support states being able to infringe on peoples liberties and freedoms he hugely stresses the importance of such and the individual. We have a Constitution which the Federal government has completely disregarded and trashed Ron Paul will restore it because unlike the rest he actually cares about it and has read it. If you think he is a racist or homophobic you have a problem. Where you get this idea that racist and homophobes like his agenda I don't know you must have pulled it out your @$$. He stresses the importance of the individual unlike the rest. Many people who are gay and of other races like him because he believes the government has no place in marrage and he does not put people into collectives, racists and homophobes don't like those things they want an amendment banning gay marriage and the government putting people in groups not seeing them as individuals. He has support from Conservatives, liberals, Republicans, Democrats, independents and libertarians.

Ron Paul does want to take us back to the gold standard but he does not want to get rid of the dollar as the world reserve currency as you imply. In fact the reason the world is trying to get rid of it is because of the debt we have the endless inflation that is making our money worthless. Returning to the gold standard would save our currency and keep it the worlds reserve and make it worth a lot more it would get rid of the inflation that has destroyed us. Gold has always held much value and the price has continued to surge. But if you like a worthless dollar and the collapse of the US economy the gold standard is probably not for you.

If you think ending the Fed, (which is not Federal and is not a reserve) returning to the gold standard, and slashing Federal spending will not help well I dont think there is any helping you. Your ideas are economic Armageddon, denying that the economy will collapse will not make all the problems go away. Even if you where to tax every citizen 100% you could still not maintain the status quo that you seem to love and adore so much you would still have to borrow money. And in maintaining what we are doing right now if we do we are bound for an economic collapse it will inevitable. You must slash spending it is government spending, borrowing endless amounts of money, and inflating our dollar that got us in to this mess in the first place. Ron Paul's plane would save America we must cut spending and lower taxes and get rid of many of the job killing regulations. And just an FYI the Federal reserve is a collection of private banks that your beloved status quo government supports so much. I believe we have the 2nd highest corporate tax in the world why would anyone want to start a business here when they could do it any where else for cheaper and keep more money. When this country was free we had a great economy it proved to make this country great.

But if you like a failed economy and failed policy's and the status quo that got us into this mess and only continues to dig us deeper into it, if you hate freedom and liberty and sound money, Ron Paul is probably not for you.

Thanks for the response, though I remain unconvinced. Who is going to prevent state governments, backed by majorities from trampling the rights and liberties of minorities in their state if the federal government becomes disempowered the the extent Paul would like to see? History tells us that we cannot simply trust the majority to always do the right thing, rather than that which is in their best interest, but harms others.

With a gold standard, the dollar ceases to exist as an independant currency, so yes, that would effectively get rid of the dollar.

Please explain exactly how Paul's measures would help the economy to grow, and why they wouldn't in the short term create a fiscal crisis that makes the recent and current problems look like peanuts in comparison? Do you really think the entire national financial system can be yanked out and replaced without causing massive devestation in its wake? It's like remodeling your kitchen: you may prefer the end result, but first you need to go through an ugly demolition phase. Why are you so convinced that Paul is right? Are you an expert in global macro-economics, or are you just taking his words on faith?

Larry,,,, In that case you aren't voting for any conservative or an independent

They can't lead on their philosophy ---- Every tax plan they have is either a higher tax on most & a new tax for some states & Voodoo Economics does not work or create jobs

And they have proven beyond a doubt that they can't lead on rhetoric or the Gingrich "Contract on America" let alone Paul's wacky ideas of liberties

Yes Larry,,,, Obama's Affordable Health Care Plan is actually working quite well ---- A republican plan that they should have taken full credit for & now vote against

Jim do you agree with the speech or not?

Secondly- Republicans have proposed tax cuts, not higher taxes; higher taxes are the addiction of the Democrats including Obama who has raised everyone's taxes.

Everyone got tax cuts,,,, Conservative plans are additional & higher taxes

I question any spin you put on what you say about anything about Obama -- You have a record of being totally wrong & just another birther

Yes Larry,,,, Obama's Affordable Health Care Plan is actually working quite well ---- A republican plan that they should have taken full credit for & now vote agains

Those who supported a plan somewhat similar to Obama's failed marxist healthcare plan were just as wrong as Obama.

First of all there is no constitutional authority for the Federal Govt to interfere with healthcare decisions.

Secondly, Obamacare is already a fiasco that is will further destroy our country unless it's repealed.

Overall, Obamacare has increased government control of Americans’ health care choices and limited consumer choice. The more than 1,000 waivers already granted tacitly acknowledge that Obamacare’s “benefits” are not worth its costs.

Obamacare has increased government control of Americans’ health care choices, raised the cost of insurance, forced insurers to stop offering child-only policies, broken the promise that an individual can keep his insurance unaltered, and bailed out underfunded union early-retiree health care plans.

One year later, mandating certain benefits has raised the cost of providing insurance, and this higher cost has been passed on to policyholders in the form of higher premiums. For example, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon has attributed 3.4 percentage points of its 17.1 percent rate increase to Obamacare, while Celtic Insurance Company in Wisconsin and North Carolina has attributed 9 percentage points of its 18 percent rate increase to Obamacare.[5]

Obamacare has resulted in insurance companies exiting markets, thereby reducing consumer choice. Joshua Raskin, an analyst at Barclays Capital, has noted that it “is harder and harder for smaller plans to compete in a more regulated environment.”[14] Shortly after Obamacare was enacted, Principal Financial Group, which provided insurance to over 800,000 people, decided to stop selling health insurance. The company’s decision reflected its assessment of its ability to compete in the environment created by the law, which Principal believes harms relatively small insurers that lack “significant concentration in any one market.”[15]

This regulation was well publicized because McDonald’s 30,000 employees with mini-med plans were at risk of losing coverage because of a low MLR, even with the waiver from annual limits on the plan. McDonald’s mini-med plan incurs significant administrative costs because of the high turnover rates among its employees.[16] The MLR regulation published on December 1, 2010, exempted mini-med plans from the requirement for 2011 by requiring them to meet only half of the “official” MLR. The regulation requires that these plans must submit certain figures to HHS, which HHS will use to determine whether or not to extend the waiver in 2012 and 2013.[17]

HHS expects 20 states eventually to apply for MLR waivers.[18] As of March 14, 2011, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Nevada, and New Hampshire have applied for waivers, and Maine has been granted a waiver.[19]

During the debate, President Obama repeatedly assured Americans that Obamacare would not affect individuals who were satisfied with their current health insurance. Current insurance plans were supposed to be “grandfathered in” and thus protected from the numerous mandates and regulations in the health care law. In theory, an insurance plan that gains grandfathered status is not subject to the new requirements, so a plan that was offered before Obamacare could still be offered after the law’s passage.

The Administration has estimated that 49 percent to 80 percent of small-employer plans, 34 percent to 67 percent of large-employer plans, and 40 percent to 67 percent of individual insurance coverage will not be grandfathered by the end of 2013.[21] Even the unaffected plans are subject to HHS’s wide discretion to deem changes in policies unacceptable. Former HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation John Hoff has written that “the Administration [can] decide on an ad hoc basis, and without standards, which changes a plan can make and still remain grandfathered.”

The Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services initially estimated that 375,000 individuals would enroll in the Obamacare high-risk pools by the end of 2010.[31] At the time, it was thought that the $5 billion set aside for Obamacare’s high-risk pools would be grossly inadequate. The high-risk pools may be operated by the states or the federal government, and 27 states chose to create their own risk pools. The federal government set up the risk pools in the remaining 23 states.

As of February 2011, approximately 12,500 people (roughly 3 percent of the initial estimate) had obtained coverage through Obamacare’s high-risk pools.[32] The underwhelming enrollment suggests two explanations.

• Experts may have significantly overestimated how many Americans were without insurance because of a preexisting condition, or

• Despite generous premiums for the high-risk pool (well under the actuarially fair amount),[33] individuals either still cannot afford the premium or are simply not interested in obtaining insurance through the high-risk pool.

Obamacare provides a $250 rebate to Medicare beneficiaries who fall into Part D coverage gaps (the “doughnut” hole). After paying an annual deductible of $310, seniors on Medicare Part D (the prescription drug benefit) pay 25 percent of the cost of their prescription drugs until the total bill reaches $2,830. Above $2,830, enrollees pay the full cost of their prescription drug bill until total out-of-pocket spending reaches $4,550. At that point, catastrophic coverage kicks in and enrollees pay only 5 percent of the remainder of the bill for the rest of the year. The National Council on the Aging estimates about 4 million people fall into the doughnut hole each year.[39]

One year later, HHS estimates that only 3 million people[40] of the more than 46 million individuals on Medicare received rebate checks in 2010.[41] This means that the $250 rebate cost taxpayers about $750 million in 2010.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/03/obamacare-the-one-year-checkup

Jim-372206

I question any spin you put on what you say about anything about Obama -- You have a record of being totally wrong & just another birther

I see you still resort to lying when confronted with facts. I've NEVER stated or believed that Obama is anything but a US citizen. I have NO issue with his birth or citizenship. It's his marxist beliefs that I disagree with.

The Heritage Foundation? ----- You've got to be kidding

They've been running against health care reform from day one dude ---- Have some honor here, not all of us are loyal to conservative lies

Jim-the data mostly comes from the Obama administration.

Obama has RAISED everyone's taxes???

You're stupid or just ignorant.

Sorry.. You could also be stupid AND ignorant. So many choices..

Obama has lowered almost everyone's taxes. First with the "Making Work Pay" tax credit, and then with a payroll tax cut..

You're simply not bright enough to even lie well. Sorry.

Larry, you have been PUSHING the Heritage Foundation and NOW you say, Oh, most data came from the Obama Admin. You are the biggest lying traitor off ALL Republicans. Just come out and say that you HATE Obama. Just say it . You will feel better afterwards. All hate will leave your body. Maybe.