Archives for January 2014

Georgia Rep. Phil Gingrey says he is the best U.S. Senate candidate for Republican voters because of his diverse background as a physician and a public servant and his record proves he is the most conservative candidate in the field who can win the general election.

Gingrey is one of three House Republicans seeking the nomination.  Eight Republicans in all are vying ffor the seat soon to be vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss.  The party primary is set for May 20.  With such a large field, no candidate is expected to win a majority of the vote on that day.  The top two finishers would then face off in a July 22 runoff to claim the nomination.  Gingrey says his diverse background gives him a leg up in this campaign.

“I am not a career politician, even though this is my twelfth year in the United States House of Representatives.  I am a career physician.  I practiced for 32 years before I began my career as a public servant.  I have been blessed, working both at the local level on a community school board, the state assembly, four years in the state senate and now almost 12 years in the House of Representatives.  I think that résumé for this job shows that I am uniquely qualified for it and I think that puts me a little bit ahead f my opponents,” said GIngrey.

As a result of his medical background, Gingrey says repealing Obamacare is far and away his number one goal if elected to the Senate.  He even took out an ad late last year promising he would be a one-term senator if he failed to repeal Obamacare over the next six years.  That line in the sand even ruffled feathers within his own campaign, but Gingrey says he’s making it clear he’s running for the Senate to get things done.

“A lot of people get elected to Congress and sometimes a part of their pledge is a term limit pledge.  There’s no accountability,” said Gingrey.  “This is different.  This is an accountability pledge.  This is putting skin in the game and telling people and telling the people that I represent from Georgia that I’ll get up every day and that will be my job and that will be to get rid of Obamacare and replace it.”

Gingrey admits his goal is contingent upon Republicans winning back the Senate and taking back the White House in 2016.  But he says the stage for replacing Obamacare is already set with this week’s repeal and replacement legislation sponsored by Senators Orrin Hatch, Tom Coburn and Richard Burr.  Gingrey expects the public outrage over Obamacare to increase greatly as more problems strike.

“Wait until next year when the health insurance carriers have to adjust their premiums and raise their deductibles even more than they are now,” he said.

The congressman says attacking massive debt and deficits and creating conditions favorable for more job creation will also be major priorities in the Senate.

While Gingrey counts fellow GOP House members and Senate hopefuls Jack Kingston and Paul Broun as friends, he believes voters will find he has the record and the temperament that best suits the state.

“They’re both conservatives.  Paul is maybe a little bit further to the right of Attila the Hun or certainly than Jack,” laughed Gingrey.  “I find myself a little bit right in the middle, right where the people of Georgia want me to be.”

Rep. Broun criticizes Gingrey and Kingston as being fond of earmarks and voting to grow the size of government, particularly in the George W. Bush administration.  Broun also says Gingrey told him that voting for Medicare Part D was one of his proudest moments in Washington.

Gingrey responded on multiple levels, first addressing the Medicare comments.

“If we’re talking about private conversations between on-on-one, I’ve had a number of private conversations one-on-one with Paul.  I’ve had a number of private conversations with Jack.  Those are not things I think people should talk about if it is indeed a private conversation,” he said.

As for spending and growing government, Gingrey says he stack up very well against Kingston, who is a longtime member of the House Appropriations Committee.

“I haven’t been in Congress but half the amount of time that Congressman Kingston has been.  He has touted the fact that he has given $1.3 trillion back to the Treasury in the aggregate over 22 years.  Well, I’ve given $1.2 trillion back to the Treasury in the aggregate of eleven-and-a-half years.  So essentially I’ve given twice as much,” said GIngrey.

“We’re fiscally frugal, sound and solid and I don’t take a backseat to anybody on that,” said Gingrey, who also staunchly opposes raising the debt ceiling unless it includes a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

Gingrey firmly expects to be in the July runoff and says right now he doesn’t care who the other Republican will be.

“I’m just going to row my own boat and let the people of Georgia know what they have in Phil Gingrey and Dr. Gingrey and that he is the most conservative candidate in this race who can win in November,” said Gingrey.

His confidence is backed up by a recent Public Policy Polling survey showing he is just as competitive against likely Democratic nominee Michelle Nunn.

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Charlie Cooke of National Review are surprised the Obama administration is seeking the death penalty for the surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect.  They also cheer the retirement of Henry Waxman and shudder at the impact he’s had over the past 40 years.  And they react to the unsurprising news that TSA’s revealing scanners never actually did the job they were supposed to do and the TSA staffers monitoring the scanners routinely mocked the bodies of travelers.

Michigan Republican Senate hopeful Terri Lynn Land says a record of efficient public service, two convincing statewide election wins and promises to repeal Obamacare and revitalize the state’s economy are the reasons she can and will win the seat this year.

Six-term Democrat Carl Levin is retiring and neither party appears to have primaries so Land is already gearing up for a November showdown against Democratic Rep. Gary Peters. Land says her motivation for running is clear.

“Michigan needs a change.  I’ve lived here all my life and as a mother, a small business owner and a public servant, I really have seen firsthand how the broken policies of President Obama and Congressman Peters are hurting the folks here in Michigan.  So I want to go to Washington to get it back on track and make government work for the people,” said Land.

Land says scrapping Obamacare is at the top of her priority list.

“I want to go down there and repeal Obamacare.  I just does not work.  It’s driving up costs of health care, it’s limiting access and it’s hurting our economy,” said Land.  “In Michigan, over 225,000 folks have lost their insurance and their costs are going up and deductibles are going up and they’ve lost their doctors.  So, those are things I think I will be able to do when I get down to Washington, D.C.”

Land also ripped Peters and President Obama for failing to make good on their repeated vows that Americans who liked their doctors and health plans could keep them.  She also says a much different course is needed in Washington to restore the economy in Michigan and around the country.

“The tax code does not work.  As a small business owner, I’ve seen firsthand how much time and energy and resources go into preparing your taxes.  We need to reform the tax code and make it simpler and more predictable.  When I talk to businesses across Michigan, they want predictability.  They want to know what their costs are going to be, what the tax burden is going to be and they want lower taxes.  That’s definitely a difference between me and my opponent,” said Land.

“Frankly, we need to get America back to work.  More than ten million Americans are out of work.  Six million have dropped out of the workforce because they’ve grown so discouraged.  We really need to revitalize and grow our economy and get folks back to work,” she said.

Land was easily elected Michigan Secretary of State in 2002 and re-elected in 2006.  While the responsibilities of a U.S. Senator are much different, Land says the core principles she followed in that job would be followed in Washington as well.

“We had the Department of Motor Vehicles and also elections.  Everything we did looked at how government could be cost effective, how we could make sure that customers were served and that government worked for the people.  That was the most important thing and we were able to do that.  We reduced our operation by over 20 percent and were able to still deliver great service to our customers,” said Land.

Land served as secretary of state at the same time Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm was overseeing a protracted recession that was spurred in part by the decline of the auto industry and pre-dated the national economic crisis by several years.  Despite those challenging conditions, Land says she was able to balance and even cut her budget without layoffs while Granholm laid off personnel and still didn’t balance the budget.  Rep. Peters was a a member of the Granholm administration for five years, serving as state lottery commissioner.

While Democrats will likely shy away from man references to the Granholm administration they are very focused on defeating current Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder.  Elected in a landslide in 2010, Snyder maintained high approval numbers until a bruising but successful fight to make Michigan a “Right to Work” state.  The move infuriated organized labor a lot of union money will be aimed at Snyder and his GOP allies.

Snyder now faces a competitive race, but Land says he’s done a good job and believes running on the same ballot as Snyder is a good thing.

“Gov. Snyder has done something that D.C. needs to do and that’s balance budgets.  He’s put money away.  He’s put money away in the rainy day fund and really worked hard to make Michigan the comeback state.  Those are definitely things we need in Washington, D.C. – balancing the budget and not spending money we do not have,” said Land.  “Being on that same ticket, I think, is a good thing.”

Land also backs Snyder’s approach to addressing Detroit’s fiscal crisis, saying it’s time someone dealt with it seriously.  She is convinced Detroit is salvageable and will emerge stronger than ever in due time.

Another Democratic tactic in recent national and state campaigns is the effort to portray Republicans as waging a “War on Women” based on opposition to abortion or the Obamacare contraception mandate.  Land dismisses the effort, saying women care most about the same things all responsible citizens care about most.

“What we care about is jobs, being able to provide for our families, to be able to buy groceries and be able to afford it when our wages have not kept up with the costs that have increased, whether it’s buying groceries or gas or sending our kids to college.  Those costs have gone up too and of course savings and money for retirement,” said Land.  “As a woman and a Republican, those are the issues that I care about and I know other women care about.  It’s all about a good paying job and being able to afford to feed your family and that’s what we’re going to talk about.”

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Charlie Cooke of National Review welcome the news that Democratic donors and strategists are urging the party to give up hopes of winning back the House and focus on the Senate, even as many Senate Democrats are desperate to disassociate themselves from President Obama.  They also groan as House Republican leaders press forward in their desire to legalize illegal immigrants.  And they discuss Obama’s repeated reference to a flawed statistic suggesting women are getting the shaft on pay compared to men.

A Tea Party Patriots official is slamming President Obama for “co-opting” the language of free market advocates while pushing his agenda of wealth redistribution in his State of the Union address and for brazenly vowing to act unilaterally on a variety of issues if Congress doesn’t back his agenda.

National Grassroots Coordinator Keli Carender is also firing shots at congressional Republicans for not resisting Obama more vigorously and alleges the party’s response to Obama’s speech that was short on specifics.

Several times during his speech, Obama extolled the hard work and creativity of American business owners and entrepreneurs.  At the same time, he proposed a lengthy list of roles he believes the federal government ought to play in improving our economy, such as demanding an increase in the minimum wage and restoring emergency unemployment benefits that expired in December.  He also urged government involvement in energy, education and other sectors.

“He definitely co-opts the language of free markets and people who support free markets to sell his big government policies.  I just find it ironic that he uses our language but means something completely different when he uses it,” said Carender, who saw a lot of divisive rhetoric coming from the president.

“The way that we see it is that he’s basically trying to divide the citizenry based on income when the real inequality that people need to be paying attention to are the people in DC, the elected people, the bureaucrats, the government employees and the citizens of America.  Their housing values are better.  they have better perks.  They have better benefits, better salaries.  If you work for the government, you can get your student loans wiped out and you don’t have to worry about them.  We don’t have that deal out here in America,” said Carender.

“There’s so much inequality that comes out of Washington, D.C. that any inequality between people that happen to make a different amount because they have different jobs here in America is just dwarfed by that inequality,” she said.  “He’s not addressing the really bad inequality, which is people that are supposed to serve us kind of flipping the script so we serve them.”

Conservatives are already furious with President Obama for they consider unconstitutional decisions without the consent of Congress, from implementing much of the DREAM Act to put children of illegal immigrants on the path to citizenship to his changing of various parts of the new health law such as the onset of the employer mandate to unilaterally allowing insurance companies to keep selling coverage that the new law deems to be illegal.

On Tuesday, Obama boldly proclaimed that his administration would act in several areas, with or without congressional authorization, on issues ranging from pollution standards to gun rights to federal contractors and their wages.

Carender says Obama’s approach to his office and the bravado with which he uses it left her nearly speechless.

“It was breathtaking.  He’s not the first president to do that but he has definitely done it the most and he has also done it the most brazenly.  He doesn’t care because he knows no one is going to hold him accountable.  The press won’t hold him accountable and the Republicans in Congress aren’t going to hold him accountable.  Every time he defies the Constitution and the separation of powers, he diminishes their authority, which is incredibly dangerous.  Our founders definitely warned against an all-powerful executive,” said Carender.

Carender has positive and negative reviews of the Republican response offered by House GOP Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington).  On the plus side, she says the top-ranking woman in the Republican House leadership seemed able to connect well.

“I thought she was able to be personable.  I thought that was good.  For once it was somebody that had a pulse and seemed to relate to people.  I think she seems like a very nice person.  She obviously has a very nice family.  I think the story of her son with Down Syndrome is great and I know it makes liberals crazy, so that’s great,” said Carender, who also says Rodgers missed an opportunity to offer specifics on what the party would do differently than Obama.  She says that was a stark contrast to the speech by Utah Sen. Mike Lee in his message sponsored by the Tea Party Express.

“The people representing the Tea Party aren’t afraid to put out more specific proposals or to take on the issue of the president usurping Congress’ power,” she said.

“The GOP response was a little more bland, a little more broad, not real specific.  It really doesn’t challenge the president on what he’s doing unconstitutionally.  It makes me very happy to see that the Tea Party leaders in Congress are unafraid.  Regardless of what anybody’s going to say about them, they’re going to stand up for what’s right and they’re going to put it out there and be proud of it,” said Carender.

Carender dismissed criticism that addresses by Lee and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul muddied the Republican message in the wake of Obama’s speech, calling it “bogus conventional wisdom” and asserting that the political arena needs more voices rather than fewer.

She also says Tea Party Patriots will remain very active in this election year and are gaining in strength, contrary to pundits on both sides who claimed the movement would be a temporary phenomenon.

“People thought we were going away after a couple of years or three years and all of a sudden we’re coming up on our five-year anniversary.  I hope they understand that we’re just not going away.  2014 will be a big year and so will 2015, and so will 2016 and so will 2017.  We’re just going to keep plugging away until we have been able to persuade hearts and minds that our solutions are the ones that will help Americans grow and prosper and achieve their dreams,” said Carender.

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review discuss how President Obama focused on relatively small issues during the State of the Union.  They also lament that Obama will be unable to deal competently with the major challenges facing our nation.  And they discuss New York Rep. Michael Grimm’s threat to a NY1 reporter.

Georgia Rep. Paul Broun says he is the only true constitutional conservative in the Republican race for U.S. Senate in his state and vows to be a tireless champion for creating jobs, ending deficits and repealing Obamacare.

He also says his most prominent challengers either have no conservative record or lack consistency in backing conservative principles.

The wide-open race started last year when Sen. Saxby Chambliss announced he would not seek a third term.  Eight GOP candidates are seeking the nomination but early polling suggests four of them appear to have the strongest odds.  In addition to Broun, fellow Republican Reps. Jack Kingston and Phil Gingrey are in the race, along with former Secretary of State Karen Handel.

Media reports in Georgia suggest the candidates largely hold the same positions and differ only in nuance.  Broun begs to differ.

“All the candidates in this race can be categorized into three different groups.  There’s one group. and (Handel’s) a part of it, that claim to be conservative but have absolutely zero record to back that claim up.  In fact there’s some things in the past where she has supported funding for Planned Parenthood.  That’s not conservative,” said Broun.

“There’s a second category of candidates that claim to be conservative, but their record does not back up a consistent conservative position.  That’s where Kingston and Gingrey fall.  And there’s one candidate, me, who has a proven, consistent, constitutional voting record,” he said.

When asked to point to votes where he was a “consistent” conservative and Kingston and Gingrey were not, Broun pointed primarily to spending issues.

“Both of them have been huge earmarkers.  In fact, at one time, Jack Kingston had more earmarks than all of the Republican delegation from Georgia put together.  Both of them have voted for expansion of government under George W. Bush.  As an example, Dr. Gingrey told me one of the proudest votes he’s made was expansion of Medicare with Part D.  Both of them have voted for bigger and bigger government programs.  Both of them have voted to raise the debt ceiling.  I have never voted to raise the debt ceiling.  I’ve never voted for a stimulus package.  I’ve never voted for a bailout.  They have,” said Broun.

Rep. Broun says he brings a very specific approach to any vote, an approach he believes would help America avoid many of our national problems.

“There are four questions that I ask about all legislation.  All four have to be yes before I vote yes.  The first is, ‘Is it constitutional according to the original intent?  Is it one of the eighteen enumerated powers in Article I, Section 8?’  The second question, ‘Is it right?  Does it fit the Judeo-Christian biblical principles that our nation was founded upon?’  The third question is, ‘Do we need it?’  Fourth, ‘Can we afford it?'” said Broun.

“If all four are yes, I vote yes.  I’ve done that for six-and-a-half year.  If one (of the answers) is no, I vote no.  I’ve been that way for six-and-a-half years.  I’m the only candidate in this race that has a proven true conservative record.  I also have legislation to back that up,” he said.

Broun points to three specific bills he is sponsoring that he contends would boost job creation and tackle our debt problem.  First, he says his approach to repealing and replacing Obamacare is the only one that would completely remove government bureaucrats from the health care system.

“We’ve got to rip this out by the roots and replace it with my Patient Option Act or otherwise our children are not going to have jobs when they get out of school.  We’re going to have a poor economy.  We’re going to have an economic meltdown in this country if we don’t stop this out-of-control government and out-of-control spending that both parties are guilty of doing,” said Broun.

He also says he would revitalize manufacturing in this country by working to remove the onerous federal regulations that are stifling innovation and expansion.  In tackling the debt, he says his simple approach would be effective in reducing red ink.

“The government must live within its means.  We’ve got to balance out budget.  I’ve got the strongest balanced budget that’s been introduced in Congress.  It caps spending.  It makes it very difficult for Congress to raise taxes, and those are the two problems with almost every other balanced budget amendment that’s been introduced,” said Broun.

The congressman also identifies himself as a staunch defender of Americans’ Second Amendment rights and is even awarding an AR-15 as a prize from his campaign.  Accused by one of his opponents of using “gimmickry” with the AR-15, Broun says at a time when he believes President Obama is actively trying to restrict gun rights, it is important to make his views crystal clear.

“It’s not a gimmick.  It’s just a means of getting my supporters all across this nation to understand that I’m fighting for liberty.  Guns have always been a symbol of liberty,” he said.

The Republican U.S. Senate primary is scheduled for May 20.  If no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff in July.  Michelle Nunn, daughter of former Democratic Sen. Sam Nunn is the overwhelming favorite to win the Democratic nomination.

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review cheer economist Ben Stein for pointing out that someone else’s wealth doesn’t make another person poor.  As Hillary Clinton calls Benghazi her greatest regret as Secretary of State, they wonder what exactly she regrets.  And they discuss how some insurance are automatically enrolling patients with canceled policies into new plans without permission.

An ardent supporter of President Obama’s health law now admits the funding for the law is in peril because young Americans simply aren’t signing up in large enough numbers and a health policy expert says Republicans are on the right track with their various repeal and replace approaches to the law.

In an effort to get everyone insured, the health care law has always been predicated upon millions of young, healthy people choosing to enroll, even though the penalty for not having insurance is far lower than the premiums they are facing.

The Obama administration now says more than three million people are enrolled in the various health care exchanges but won’t offer statistics on how many have actually paid premiums and whether enough young people are in the mix to pay for the care needed by older, less healthy Americans.

Virginia Rep. Jim Moran told NPR-affiliated WAMU radio that he doesn’t expect the numbers to balance when open enrollment comes to a close.

“I’m afraid the millenials, if you will, are less likely to sign up.  I think they feel more independent.  I think they feel a little more invulnerable than prior generations but I don’t think we’re going to get enough young people signing up to make this bill work as it was intended to financially,” said Moran.

Galen Institute President Grace-Marie Turner says Moran’s fears are well-founded.

“All of the indications say that young people are not signing up at the level that we expected.  I suspect the president’s probably going to have a couple of young people in the First Lady’s box at the State of the Union speech tomorrow night, saying that young people should be signing up.  They really need to encourage them.  It’s not happening,” said Turner.

“The reason is that the incentives are all wrong.  They’re charging them more for policies that are much richer than they want.  Many of them don’t even have jobs, for crying out loud, because of the Obama economy.  I think it’s very very unlikely you’re going to see the young people and therefore it’s even more unlikely that this Obamacare plan, and certainly the exchanges, become even more unstable than they already are,” she said.

Moran’s comments come a day before Obama’s State of the Union message and on the same day three prominent GOP senators unveiled their plan to repeal Obamacare and replace it with a market-based system that still protects Americans with pre-existing conditions and allows children to stay on their parents’s health plans to age 26 but open up competition and risk pools to drive down costs and promote tax credit. to help Americans afford their coverage

Sponsored by Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) and Richard Burr (R-North Carolina), the bill would also include Health Opportunity Accounts for Medicaid patients, malpractice reforms to drive down the lost of liability insurance for doctors and transparency so patients would know how much individual treatments cost.

Turner says much like House bills drafted by Georgia Rep. Tom Price and the Republican Study Committee, this legislation heads in the right direction in many ways.

“They’d start by repealing Obamacare.  They all provide subsidies for people to purchase health insurance if they’re middle income and lower income.  They all would create a true market.  They all want to reform Medicare and Medicaid in a true 21st century consumer choice model.  If you do side-by-sides, you’d see a lot of similar check marks on each one of them,” said Turner.

Turner expects the House to pass major reforms later this year but that they will die in the Democratically-controlled Senate.  She says if the GOP manages to win back the Senate in the midterm elections, major changes would be passed out of both chambers.  Turner says Obama would never sign a repeal of his signature domestic legislation but the difficult realities of Obamacare could force him to accept major changes next year.

But before Republicans launch their legislative effort, Turner is offering two significant pieces of advice.  First, she says, is to make sure the American people understand the differences between what Obamacare is doing and what GOP reforms would do.

“I think what Republicans have to do is explain what their vision is.  What would they do differently than Obamacare and why should the American people say, ‘OK, we’re ready to go with you all.’  Don’t get into all the details of all the hard wiring and the nuances of legislation because that’ll confuse the American people even more than they’re already confused,” said Turner.

“Talk about this vision of consumer choice and portability.  You get to decide what your plan is, not disrupting the employer market, allowing people who have coverage through small businesses to either get coverage on their own or continue to get it through their small business plan, but to give them the same tax break whatever they do.  Those are all really important principles and people need to understand that,” said Turner.

She also endorses the House GOP approach of taking on the reforms one at a time rather than trying to make all the changes at once, noting it would just as foolhardy for Republicans to get behind one mammoth piece of legislation as it was for Democrats when they passed Obamacare in the first place.

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Revieware sad but pleased to see Florida Rep. Trey Radel resign his seat in the wake of his arrest for cocaine possession.  They also groan as House GOP leaders once again embrace immigration reform, specifically legalization for millions of illegals.  And they react to RNC Chairman Reince Priebus pushing to make the 2016 GOP convention much earlier than past years and shortening the primary and caucus schedule.