Despite President Barack Obama’s deadline, both the House and Senate failed to pass Obama’s health care plan before they adjourned for the month of August. Now Senators and Representatives are returning home to participate in one of America’s greatest democratic traditions: the townhall. The events afford citizens the rare opportunity to share their opinions directly with their elected officials. Considering the unprecedented scope of power that President Obama wants to exercise over our nation’s health sector (a sector that is one-sixth of our entire economy and larger than the United …
A look at the states hit hardest by the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade policies immediately reveals a serious regional divide. The regions worst affected? About half the country. Testifying before a hearing of the Congressional Western Caucus, The Heritage Foundation’s Senior Policy Analyst Ben Lieberman elaborated: The disproportionate burden affects the West. Coal mining will be very hard hit, so Montana and Wyoming and other coal producing states will see this important sector of their economies shrink significantly. Western oil and natural gas producers will face higher costs as well. The promise …
As reported by facethestate.com in Colorado, Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) will conduct only a single meeting—but it’s purely by telephone. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) will hold a meeting—but only one. The article adds, “U.S. Reps. John Salazar and Betsy Markey, both Democrats, and Mike Coffman, a Republican, have not yet scheduled any town hall meetings for the August break, which runs Aug. 3 to Sept. 4. Staff for all three say dates and times will be announced shortly. A representative from Salazar’s Grand Junction office said they are ‘currently gauging …
The front page of the Washington Post yesterday features a story by Paul Schwartzman about a couple in Indiana who were laid off from an RV plant and are receiving unemployment insurance (UI) benefits to the tune of about $700 a week ($268 for her and $390 for him). Buried deep into the story on the third page of the article it mentions that the wife, Kelly Nichols, actually got offered a job as a bookkeeper for a chiropractor. It paid $8 an hour for 28 hours a week. Kelly …
The White House is losing the health care debate. Polls from National Public Radio, Wall Street Journal/NBC News, The Washington Post, Gallup, and Pew all show that the American people do not support President Barack Obama’s health care plan. The White House wants people to believe they are losing the health care debate because “scary … videos are starting to percolate on the internet” that are spreading “disinformation” about Obama’s health care plan. The White House is even encouraging Obama supporters to help them identify people spreading this “disinformation.” The …
It can’t be helped that Bill Clinton’s presence in Pyongyang sends a message. Another, less prestigious envoy may have been more appropriate. But he’s there, and it looks like he will be bringing the reporters home. Certainly that is cause for celebration. Unfortunately, there is no doubt that Kim Jong-il will see such a high level visit as a win, providing him incentive to perpetuate provocative action, including the ongoing development of missile technology and atomic weapons. The photo-ops of the trip already point to this. The greater danger, however, …
Ken Belson of the New York Times provides some interesting data points on the cash for clunkers program: The “cash for clunkers” program introduced last week appears to have been a success, at least based on the tens of thousands of consumers who streamed into their local car dealers to swap their beaters for new, more fuel-efficient replacements. But there is more to the numbers than the headlines. According to a survey of car dealerships and 2,200 consumers by CNW Research, the average fuel economy of vehicles traded in last …
Newly-anointed American Enterprise Institute President Arthur Brooks spoke at Heritage’s weekly Blogger Briefing today (listen here). He addressed the fact that conservatives must establish new language and new messages to remind Americans of the moral necessity of a culture of free enterprise. “Overwhelming majorities of Americans prefer the free market system,” he said, in an animated 50-minute discussion. “Entrepreneurship and local communities are the single best ways to lift people out of poverty…We have the goods to do what [liberals] say they want to do. We have the data and …
This morning, the White House released a video by White House Health Reform Office communications director Linda Douglass, purporting to refute claims that President Barack Obama’s health care plan will not cause millions of Americans to lose their health insurance or doctor. Watch it: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0XCl6OHgiM&feature=player_embedded[/youtube] The White House blog writes: “For the record, the President has consistently said that if you like your insurance plan, your doctor, or both, you will be able to keep them.” But all Douglass’ video really does is play clips of Obama making this same …
When skyrocketing energy prices took hold of America last summer, it became clear that developing alternative sources of energy was important to our nation’s economic and national security. Although talk of solar, wind, and biofuels have often dominated alternative energy discussions in the past, today more and more people are recognizing that clean coal and nuclear energy are both key to our nation’s energy future. As the representative of Pennsylvania’s Fourth Congressional District, I represent an area that has long been a national leader in America’s nuclear industry. Westinghouse Electric …
