All of us are still basking in Scott Brown’s historic U.S. Senate victory. It’s still hard to believe that we were able to pull it off against all the odds.
Governor Romney Introduces Scott Brown at Victory Party:
[I'm adding video of Brown giving special thanks to Romney that we haven't posted yet ~Nate]
I especially want to thank a very special friend, whose encouragement from the beginning helped show me the way, and show us the way to victory – and that is former Governor Mitt Romney. Thank you Governor.
Praise for Mitt Romney came a couple of days ago from FOX News’ Kirsten Powers and Charles Krauthammer in regard to being the strongest Republican candidate for 2012. Senator-elect Scott Brown’s warm words for Mitt, combined with a solid $3 million dollar 2009 fundraising report for Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC deserves a shout-out to a great man. Romney’s relentless efforts for conservatism are being noticed and affirm his reliability, likeability, and magnanimity.
Kirsten Powers:
“I think the strongest candidate in a general election would probably be Romney… He understands the economy. He’s a good candidate… People like him so I think he’d be strong.”
Charles Krauthammer:
“The best candidate, I think, as of today would be Mitt Romney…
You’d want a Romney- who is solid, economically savvy, reliable, rooted, experienced. I think he’d be very strong.”
Romney gave you early financial and public support. What’s your relationship like with him?
Brown: “He’s changed, he’s changed. You know, he’s actually — before he was an outsider coming in and he was, you know, kind of, you know, stiff. But he’s actually, like, funny, he’s like — when he was at my events he was cracking jokes, when we were on the bus — I was like, who is this guy? He’s really kind of, I think, settled into his role kind of being the elder statesman of the party and everything he went through [running for] as president. It’s kind of, and once again it’s my opinion but he’s really a different guy than I knew when he was here, and I certainly appreciate everything he did for me.
Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC fundraising efforts paid off last year. He raised just under $3 million dollars in 2009. As the mid-term elections heat up, our continued support for the FSAP will be key in helping conservative candidates across the nation. From Chris Good – The Atlantic Jan 29, 2010:
Mitt Romney had a pretty good year in 2010, when it comes to political money: his political organization, the Free and Strong America PAC, raised just over $2.9 million in 2009, the PAC announced today. Along with that haul, it doled out a total of over $120,000 to candidates and causes. (That total looks miniscule compared to the money taken in, but keep in mind that 2009 was an off year, and it’s just now time to start thinking about serious 2010 spending.)
It’s unclear how this will compare to the political action committees of the other Big Three Republican 2012 contenders–Sarah Palin’s SarahPAC and Mike Huckabee’s HuckPAC–but, at the midway point of 2009, Romney’s PAC had led them substantially.
In their last Federal Election Commission disclosure reports, counting donations through June 30, 2009, Romney’s PAC led with $1.9 million raised in the first half of the year. Palin’s PAC had raised over $730,000, while Huckabee’s PAC had raised over $300,000.
The year-end filing deadline is this Sunday, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern, so we should know soon how much Palin and Huckabee’s organizations raked in.
If those three want to use their PAC money to support their own presidential campaigns in 2012, they’ll only be able to contribute $5,000 from the PACs to their campaigns for the primary, and another $5,000 for the general election (if one of them wins the nomination). But the PACs can spend unlimited amounts on their own to support a candidate–so, theoretically, that money could be just as good as a campaign war chest, though it would have to be used via independent expenditures.
While Nancy Pelosi tests the ‘spring’ in her pole vaulting apparatus and packs her parachute, House Republicans converged yesterday evening (Jan 28, 2010) for a three-day strategy session at the Inner Harbor hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. President Obama will join them today to speak and participate in a question-and-answer session. No doubt, health care will be a priority topic.
FOX News anchor Patti Ann Brown talks with reporter Carl Cameron, Jan 28, 2010:
“You go through the gate. If the gate’s closed, you go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we’ll pole vault in. If that doesn’t work, we’ll parachute in. But we’re going to get health care reform passed for the American people.”
Responding to Obama’s State of the Union speech and the President’s invitation that if anyone from either party has a better aproach to bring down health care premiums, House Republican Leader John Boehner revealed to reporters yesterday that he hasn’t been contacted by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel or any one on the President’s team in over a year:
“And so, we’re eager for the President to come to our retreat tomorrow. We’re going to have an honest conversation about America’s priorities and trying to find ways to find some common ground.”
NOTE: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirms that the House Republican health care plan will lower health care premiums by up to 10 percent and reduce the deficit by $68 billion over 10 years without imposing tax increases on small businesses and families. For more information on the GOP plan, go here.
“Republicans are emboldened. They think Obama has overshot the runway, and they’re going to stick with their strategy,” said Scott Reed, a Republican consultant.
As they left Washington for the three-day strategy session, Republican leaders did not seem to be in a frame of mind for compromising.
Minority Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio said that Obama had “decided to just double-down on his job-killing agenda,” while ignoring the angry voter message behind recent Republican victories in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts.
“There was nothing last night in the president’s speech to indicate that there was any willingness to sit down and work together,” he said of Obama’s State of the Union address Wednesday. Boehner added that Republicans would try to find common ground with Obama, “but we’re not going to roll over on our principles.”
Heading into this year’s congressional campaigns, Republican fundraising and recruitment have picked up. National opinion surveys show steady improvement in the party’s prospects. And independent analysts predict that Democrats could lose dozens of House seats and, possibly, majority control of the chamber in the first midterm election of Obama’s presidency.
Obama acknowledged the effectiveness of the opposition’s strategy, even as he took a swipe at Republican obstructionism.
For now, at least, Republicans have little incentive to cooperate. Only three of the 37 most competitive House races this year feature a Democratic challenge to a Republican incumbent, according to the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report.
And Obama’s attempts to woo Republicans could be constrained by growing restiveness within the president’s own party. His pitch, during the State of the Union address, for building a new generation of nuclear power plants and possibly expanding offshore oil and gas drilling won immediate Republican approval but fell flat with Democratic liberals.
“It is in the president’s interests, politically and probably governmentally, to try to get some Republican cooperation and some Republican buy-in,” said former Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.).
Obama passed up opportunities during his first year that might have made it more costly for Republicans to oppose him.
For example, the administration bowed to a powerful Democratic special interest, the trial-lawyer lobby, and refused to make significant changes in medical liability as part of healthcare legislation. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that a Republican proposal to limit medical malpractice costs would save taxpayers $54 billion over 10 years.
With elections ahead, a weakened Obama may find it more difficult to win Republican support for his agenda. But simply making a sustained attempt at bipartisan outreach could help put Democrats in a better position to attract swing votes this fall.
The Republican retreat, which runs through Saturday, is designed to help develop the party’s strategic plan for the midterm elections. Independent campaign analysts are forecasting significant Republican gains this November, with some predicting at least an outside chance for Republicans to knock Democrats from the majority.
Republicans “look forward to sharing with the president our better solutions for getting this economy moving again [and] putting our fiscal house in order. Our proposals for health care reform [and] energy will all be part of what we are describing as a conversation between the president and House Republicans,” Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, chairman of the House Republican conference, said Wednesday.
Besides Obama, scheduled speakers at the Baltimore retreat include former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, newly elected Republican Gov. Robert McDonnell of Virginia and former House Republican Leader Dick Army, who chairs a conservative group that has aggressively opposed Obama’s agenda. Retired football coach Lou Holtz, a longtime Republican activist who gave a pep talk at the 2007 retreat on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, is the Friday night dinner speaker.
Gingrich, whose former aides are active in the Congressional Institute, also addressed last winter’s retreat, held at the Homestead in Hot Springs, Va. Other speakers there included 2012 Republican presidential possibilities Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty newly elected Republican National Chairman Michael S. Steele
Keep an eye out for a party-crashing parachuting Pelosi.
After the knock-out senatorial election of Scott Brown (R-MA), President Obama blatantly declared, “The same thing that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office.” Obama’s 71-minute State of the Union speech to the nation last night signaled he’s ignoring Massachusetts’ cold-water-in-the-face message. He’s quickly toweled off and plans to keep slugging. With an overall combative tone, peppered with patronization and huge doses of hypocrisy, here are just a few jabs from last night’s speech:
“We have the largest majority in decades and people expect us to solve problems, not run for the hills.” (Obama warns Democrats to stay in the ring with him. 78% of Americans believe the Democrat super-majority loss is a positive for America. 22% feel it is a negative for America.)
“Let’s try common sense. Let’s invest in our people without leaving them a mountain of debt. Let’s meet our responsibility to the people who sent us here.” (Obama’s policies have put us on a road that will triple our national debt to $22 trillion over the next ten years. The fiscal policies of the United States are unsustainable.)
“And what the American people hope — what they deserve — is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences, to overcome the numbing weight of our politics… Just saying ‘no’ to everything may be good short term politics but it’s not leadership.” (Capitol Hill doors have been locked – figuratively and in actuality - to prevent policy negotiations with Republicans. Update: House Republican Leader John Boehner (OH-8) said today that it had been over a year since he has been contacted by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel or anyone in the Obama administration.)
“One year ago, I took office amid two wars, an economy rocked by a severe recession, financial system on the verge of collapse and a government deeply in debt. Experts from across the political spectrum warned that if we did not act, we might face a second depression. So we acted — immediately and aggressively. And one year later, the worst of the storm has passed.” (Of Obama’s controversial $787 billion Stimulus Bill, only $264 billion has been spent. That leaves $523 billion more for Obama’s pay-backs and pet projects. He promised us that passing the Stimulus Bill would hold unemployment at 8%. It’s now over 10%. The Labor Dept reports today that for the week ending Jan. 23, another 470,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits. UPDATE: Dr. Frank Luntz conducted a poll today among an equal number of Republicans and Democrats in Philadelphia, PA. This statement polled as the WORST MOMENT in Obama’s speech.)
“…I’ve proposed a fee on the biggest banks. Now, I know Wall Street isn’t keen on this idea. But if these firms can afford to hand out big bonuses again, they can afford a modest fee to pay back the taxpayers who rescued them in their time of need.” (TARP funds prevented our entire financial system from collapsing. Obama wants banks who have paid back TARP money – with interest – to now pay a fee. Obama ignores the federal government’s part in contributing to our economic crisis and is deflecting from the bonuses his own administration allowed.)
“You see, Washington has been telling us to wait for decades, even as the problems have grown worse. Meanwhile, China is not waiting to revamp its economy.” (Of course China isn’t waiting. They own us! Just a couple of months into Obama’s presidency, the Chinese were expressing concerns over his penchant for trillion dollar borrowing from them. U.S. taxpayers pay the Chinese government $50 billion per year on interest – alone.)
“Still, this is a complex issue [health care], and the longer it was debated, the more skeptical people became. I take my share of the blame for not explaining it more clearly to the American people.” (Does Obama really believe 61% of Americans want him to move off the health care issue and focus on job creation because he didn’t explain it well enough? 81% of Americans believe Obamacare will raise taxes.)
“Let’s put aside the schoolyard taunts about who is tough. Let’s reject the false choice between protecting our people and upholding our values.” (Obama foreign policy gobbledy gook. The Commander-in-Chief conveniently forgot to mention his policy of giving U.S. constitutional rights to terrorists and trials in U.S. courts.)
“And, yes, it [clean energy] means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America. I know there have been questions about whether we can afford such changes in a tough economy. I know that there are those who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change.” (Obama is willing to cripple our economy further by refusing to even consider real science and the scandalous suppressing of evidence regarding climate change. Cap-and-Trade legislation isn’t global warming/climate change. It’s about creating profit – money out of thin air.)
A jaw-dropping breach of decorum occurred last night when Obama scolded the Supreme Court regarding the reversal of the McCain-Feingold bill. Watch Justice Alito mouth “that’s not true”:
Like us, Harry Reid has heard it all before:
Governor Bob McDonnell’s (R-VA) response to Obama’s State of the Union Speech:
Obama’s condescension and arrogance doesn’t bode well for 2010. The President’s hoped-for left hook last night may cost him seats in the mid-term elections. Will Blue Dog Democrats go to the ropes for him? We’ll see.
Obama may have bloodied our noses this past year, but I feel a whopping right-hook coming on. The American people refuse to be his punching bag any longer.
Read full text of Governor Bob McDonnell’s (R-WA) rebuttal speech here.
Read full text of President Obama’s State of the Union Speech here.
In case you missed it: Mitt Romney made an early appearance this AM on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America‘. In the video below, Mitt Romney gives his response to George Stephanopoulos regarding last night’s ‘State of the Union’ speech, delivered by President Obama:
Be sure to catch more of Mitt Romney this afternoon on ‘Your World‘ with Neil Cavuto. More info here.
Be sure to catch Mitt Romney on Fox News this afternoon at 4 PM-ET. Romney has been invited to give his two cents on Neil Cavuto’s Program, ‘Your World‘.
Look for more of Romney’s reaction to last night’s State of the Obama speech (…I mean, State of the Unions speech). He’s likely to echo what he said earlier today on Good Morning America: “We’ve lost a year”.
UPDATE: Here is the video of Mitt Romney’s interview with Neil Cavuto:
Before Obama turns on the teleprompters and clears his throat to speak before a State-of-the-Union joint session of Congress tomorrow evening, it’s worth highlighting the ONE campaign promise he DID keep this past year.
Peppered throughout his presidential campaign were pronouncements that he, the community organizer, would meet with tyrannical leaders of nations that are antagonistic toward the United States. As a new president, he would proudly go eye-ball to eye-ball with them – without pre-conditions.
April 17, 2009: At the ‘Summit of the Americas’ on twin-island nation Trinidad and Tobago, an eager-as-a-puppy Obama met, chatted, and back-slapped Marxist Hugo Chavez. Chavez sweetened the meeting by gifting Obama with a copy of The Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent. Written by Eduardo Galeano, the book portrays U.S. and European economic and political interference in the region.
A promise fulfilled.
Let’s examine dates of note that have taken place since President Obama’s meeting with Chavez.
April 19, 2009: Obama referenced the Chavez meeting:
The whole notion was that if we showed courtesy or opened up dialogue with governments that had previously been hostile to us, that that somehow would be a sign of weakness,” Obama said, recalling his race for the White House and challenging his critics today. “The American people didn’t buy it,” Obama said. “And there’s a good reason the American people didn’t buy it — because it doesn’t make sense.”
May 7, 2009: News broke that well-known Venezuelan nongovernmental organizations were warned that a bill was being drafted by loyal Chavez lawmakers that would be used to financially cripple entities that criticized Chavez.
May 8, 2009: The next day, Chavez seized the assets of foreign and domestic oil contractors in his country to control more of Venezuela’s oil industry:
“They come with their soldiers from the National Guard, and they take what they want,” he [oil industry official] said, “and you, as the owner of your company, can do absolutely nothing.”
June 3, 2009: Referencing the U.S. government’s taking 60% ownership in a once-powerful symbol of American ingenuity – General Motors, Chavez was haranguing the ‘curse’ of capitalism and praising socialism. He joked on live television:
“Hey, Obama has just nationalized nothing more and nothing less than General Motors. Comrade Obama! Fidel [Castro], careful or we are going to end up to his right!”
July 10, 2009: The Irish Examiner reported: President Hugo Chavez’s government was imposing tough new regulations on Venezuela’s cable television while revoking the licenses of more than 200 radio stations.
July 29, 2009: Obama appointed Chavez-admirer Mark Lloyd ‘Chief Diversity Officer’ at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to a position specially formed for him. Back in 2006, Lloyd authored Prologue to a Farce: Communication and Democracy in America – a book outlining how leftist activists can oust commercial broadcasters (conservative talk radio) off the airwaves and replace them with public broadcasters.
The National Conference for Media Reform (NCMR) unearthed a 2006 a tape of Mark Lloyd praising Chavez:
“In Venezuela, with Chavez, is really an incredible revolution – a democratic revolution. To begin to put in place things that are going to have an impact on the people of Venezuela.
“The property owners and the folks who then controlled the media in Venezuela rebelled – worked, frankly, with folks here in the U.S. government – worked to oust him. But he came back with another revolution, and then Chavez began to take very seriously the media in his country.”
August 4, 2009: The White House issued a call for informants to report on Americans who publicly opposed the President’s health care plan ASAP – even those speaking against it in casual conversation. (What a coincidence this happened six days AFTER Mark Lloyd was appointed FCC Commissioner!)
There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.
August 14, 2009: The Miami Herald revealed that an unclassified report listed examples of Venezuelan government efforts to crack down on or seize control of media outlets to stifle criticism.
November 25, 2009: Reuters news agency reported the arrival of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Caracas as part of a South America tour. Ahmadinejad hailed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as a fellow anti-US ‘brother’:
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez used a visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday to brand Israel as a murderous agent of Washington. Chavez and Ahmadinejad, on the last leg of a tour of three left-leaning South American nations, hugged, held hands, and praised each other as fellow revolutionaries.
The Venezuelan singled out a comment by Israeli President Shimon Peres, during a visit this month to South America, that his and Ahmadinejad’s days in power may be numbered.
“We know what the state of Israel stands for — a murderous arm of the Yankee empire,” Chavez told joint news conference. “What the president of Israel said, we take as a threat.”
Chavez broke relations with Israel this year. He won praise in the Muslim world after branding an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip as genocide.
December 18, 2009:
Obama met with world leaders, including Chavez, and addressed the Global Warming Summit in Copenhagen (in the middle of a blizzard). After our president spoke, Chavez stepped to the podium. Referring to the ‘sulfur’ stench at the pulpit, Chavez mockingly referred to Obama as “Obama Nobel War Prize” and chastened him for his lack of commitment to climate change and lack of transparency.
Chavez: “If Obama, Nobel War Prize, said here -by the way, it smells of sulfur here. It smells of sulfur. It keeps smelling of sulfur in this world.”
January 20, 2010: American-hating Chavez declared that the United States Navy, incognito and in the dark of night, launched a weapon of such colossal capacity that it triggered the massive, deadly earthquake in Haiti. Chavez also warned the world that it was only a drill for the United States THIS time, but the final target is destroying and taking over…Iran:
January 25, 2010: Six TV stations forced off air in Venezuela.
An opposition TV station in Venezuela along with five others were taken off the air early Sunday for violating rules issued by President Hugo Chavez’s government, a station spokeswoman said.
The new rules require stations to air Chavez’s speeches, among other mandates. Chavez critics view many of those speeches, which can last for hours, as government propaganda
We’re going to hear powerful language from the President tomorrow night. Populist language - language meant to disguise philosophies and failings. Language to deflect and delude. Language punctuated with big smiles, broad gestures, stern gazes, varying volumes, clipped sentences, and a jutting jaw.
In spite of the political theater on display, let’s never forget the many reasons Obama won’t mention the one promise he kept.
As Obama huddles with State of the Union speech writers and teleprompter technicians, America waits to see what effect the ‘Downtown Scotty Brown’ election will have on Obama’s 2010 agenda. Will Obama slide to the center? Or, will he continue careening hard left?
Regarding the President’s signature bill, some believe Obamacare can be salvaged. If so, what exactly CAN be salvaged? Others believe the nightmare bill is dead in the water. If reconciliation rumblings are true, the process still entails an almost start-over-process which includes going back to committees, more hearings, and vote taking. Democrats could try to get a few Republicans to go for a stripped down version of the bill, but given the revulsion for the unsavory deal making and the complete Republican shut-out, is that a realistic option?
The X-factor in the equation is Senator-elect Brown. With the full attention of Capitol Hill fixated on the Massachusetts message and our newest freshman senator, Brown hefts the leverage to determine if the bill lives or dies. Blue Dog Democrats are eyeing the MA results with knocking knees and some Democrats want to wash their hands of the whole mess so they can tackle creating jobs and the economy.
We await Obama’s State of the Union health care verdict (Wednesday, January 27th).
The ‘Brown’ effect - Jan 22, 2010:
Latest messages on Brown’s Facebook page:
Jan 22, 2010 – Scott Brown had a productive day in Washington yesterday, and am eager to get to work. Thank you again to all those who have supported our campaign. I won’t let you down.
Today, Jan 23, 2010 – Scott Brown is enjoying some hard earned family time.
What a difference two days make. Senator-Elect Scott Brown made the rounds today in a town he wants to change – Washington D.C. Liberals sang a different tune as they rolled out the welcome mat, smiled, shook hands, pledged to work together, and cracked a few jokes with Brown. It was a chorus of reformed cronies – for today. Harry Reid, John Kerry, Mitch McConnell, and John McCain were among those greeting Brown. The ‘41st’ also attended a spaghetti lunch hosted by the GOP.
Warbling Nancy Pelosi: ”We don’t have the votes to pass Health Care in the House.”
Democrats’ best last-ditch approach to saving President Barack Obama’s sweeping health care overhaul — prodding House members to pass a Senate version vastly unpopular there —isn’t working.
So attention is shifting to crafting much more modest health legislation that could have bipartisan appeal, and even that may prove more complicated than many lawmakers suggest.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she lacks the votes to move the Senate’s bill through the House and to Obama’s desk, a plan that’s backed by the White House. Under that scenario, the new law would be followed by a separate measure making changes sought by House members, such as easing the Senate’s tax on higher-cost health plans.
Pelosi (D-CA) spoke to reporters after House Democrats held a closed-door meeting at which participants vented frustration with the Senate legislation.
Many rank-and-file Democrats said their stunning defeat in this week’s Massachusetts special election — in which Republicans captured the Senate seat held for decades by the late Edward Kennedy — meant it was time to seek more modest health legislation.
It would be “problematic” to persuade House members to approve the Senate measure, Pelosi said, though Democrats haven’t completely ruled out trying to do so. Many of them say the Senate bill does too little to help people afford health coverage.
“In its present form without any changes I don’t think it’s possible to pass the Senate bill in the House,” Pelosi said, adding, “I don’t see the votes for it at this time.”
Brown Takes Over D.C.
(Brown report goes to 5:00 - remainder Miami Haitians’ ties to Haiti earthquake victims):
Affable, calm, and poised, Brown prepared to return to Massachusetts to attend daughter Ayla’s Boston College basketball game tonight. As he was leaving, a reporter asked Brown what his favorite part of his day in Washington was. He replied, “the spaghetti.”
Scott Brown… keepin’ it real.
For all we’ve been through during this first year of Obama rule, to celebrate a historic election on Tuesday, and for FUN, listen to Obama croon HIS new tune:
Obama serenade: The Day Obamacare Dies
Let the chorus swell!
UPDATE: National Review Online is reporting today that Democrats in the House ARE planning to use the budget reconciliation process to inflict Obamacare on America. We knew the smiles on Capitol Hill were photo ops. Even hyenas smile:
Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.), the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, tells NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE that House Democrats are planning to use the budget-reconciliation process in order to pass Obamacare. “They’re meeting with each other this weekend to pursue it,” says Ryan. “I’ve spoken with many Democrats and the message is this: They’re not ready to give up. They’ve waited their entire adult lives for this moment and they aren’t ready to let 100,000 pesky votes in Massachusetts get in the way of fulfilling their destiny. They’ll look at every option and spend the next four or five days figuring it out.”
If the Democrats pass a health-care bill through reconciliation, it means they would need only 51 votes in the Senate for final passage. To start the process, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) would need to bring a new health-care bill to the House budget committee with reconciliation instructions, with the Senate doing the same.
“They’d have to go back to the beginning of the process,” says Ryan. “They’d need to affix reconciliation instructions to a new bill.” Doing so, he says, wouldn’t be too hard. “There’s nothing we can do to stop this from a technical standpoint, since all they need is a simple majority vote and our ratio on the committee is terrible. What [Republicans] can do on the budget committee is pass resolutions for the Rules committee to insist on certain changes in the bill and create a ‘vote-a-rama’ atmosphere.”
If reconciliation happens, Ryan predicts that the Democrats will still have a hard time pulling it off. “There are Blue Dog Democrats out there who are more survivalist than ideologues. One or two switches could be a game changer. The question is whether Democrats will continue to follow Pelosi off the cliff.
After Massachusetts, the Democrats are quickly realizing that even if the president comes in to stump, and you get all the union support you need, it’s still not enough to get you elected.”
It’s rousing! It’s reminiscent Paul Revere! It’s real!
Backlash is coming… backlash is coming.
In the deepest blue of states, overwhelmingly controlled by Democrats, contesting a sacred 50 year senatorial tradition, on the eve of Obama’s one-year anniversary as president, and against all odds…Senator-Elect Scott Brown triumphed yesterday. Trailing by 30 points just a month ago, a focused and vigilant Brown ascended to win by 5 points over favored-to-win opponent Democrat Martha Coakley.
I’ll bet they can hear all this cheering down in Washington, D.C.
And I hope they’re paying close attention, because tonight the independent voice of Massachusetts has spoken.
From the Berkshires to Boston, from Springfield to Cape Cod, the voters of this Commonwealth defied the odds and the experts. And tonight, the independent majority has delivered a great victory.
I thank the people of Massachusetts for electing me as your next United States senator.
Every day I hold this office, I will give all that is in me to serve you well and make you proud.
Most of all, I will remember that while the honor is mine, this Senate seat belongs to no one person and no political party – and as I have said before, and you said loud and clear today, it is the people’s seat.
Raising taxes, taking over our health care and giving new rights to terrorists is the wrong agenda for our country. What I’ve heard again and again on the campaign trail, is that our political leaders have grown aloof from the people, impatient with dissent, and comfortable in the back room making deals. And we can do better.
Across this country, we are united by basic convictions that need only to be clearly stated to win a majority. If anyone still doubts that, in the election season just beginning, let them look to Massachusetts.
Fellow citizens, what happened in this election can happen all over America. We are witnesses, you and I, to the truth that ideals, hard work, and strength of heart can overcome any political machine. We ran a campaign never to be forgotten, and led a cause that deserved and received all that we could give it.
I go to Washington as the representative of no faction or interest, answering only to my conscience and to the people. I’ve got a lot to learn in the Senate, but I know who I am and I know who I serve.
I’m Scott Brown; I’m from Wrentham; I drive a truck, and I am nobody’s senator but yours.
The epic upset of Brown’s election can’t be overstated. The referendum on Obamacare, taxes, terrorism, transparency, Washington bullying, bribery, and back room deals is a message that will be perilous to ignore. Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) broke rank yesterday to end the pursuit to vote on health care in the senate before Brown is seated:
In many ways the campaign in Massachusetts became a referendum not only on health care reform but also on the openness and integrity of our government process. It is vital that we restore the respect of the American people in our system of government and in our leaders. To that end, I believe it would only be fair and prudent that we suspend further votes on health care legislation until Senator-elect Brown is seated.
President Obama will address our nation a week from today in his State of the Union address. That gives him seven days to determine if a political pivot on his dangerous policies is prudent or if he’ll continue his course for 2010. Either way, we, the people, witnessed a Massachusetts miracle yesterday and will move forward to take back America.
Gas up the truck, Scott! You’re going to Capitol Hill!
Editor note: No doubt Mitt Romney’s encouraging Brown to run for the MA senate seat, along with his endorsement and untiring efforts to help Brown win are a huge credit to Romney and a great ‘save’ for America. This topic deserves elaboration in a post of its own.
Disclaimer: MittRomneyCentral.com is a pure grassroots website. It is not paid for, endorsed by, or affiliated in any way with Governor Mitt Romney or his official campaign.
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In case you missed it: Mitt Romney made an early appearance this AM on ABC’s ‘
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