Top 10 Worst Things about the Republicans' Immoral Budget

via MoveOn.Org

The Republican budget would:

1. Destroy 700,000 jobs, according to an independent economic analysis.

2. Zero out federal funding for National Public Radio and public television.

3. Cut $1.3 billion from community health centers--which will deprive more than three million low-income people of health care over the next few months.

4. Cut nearly a billion dollars in food and health care assistance to pregnant women, new moms, and children.

5. Kick more than 200,000 children out of pre-school by cutting funds for Head Start.

6. Force states to fire 65,000 teachers and aides, dramatically increasing class sizes, thanks to education cuts.

7. Cut some or all financial aid for 9.4 million low- and middle-income college students.

8. Slash $1.6 billion from the National Institutes of Health, a cut that experts say would "send shockwaves" through cancer research, likely result in cuts to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's research, and cause job losses.

9. End the only federal family planning program, including cutting all federal funding that goes to Planned Parenthood to support cancer screenings and other women's health care.

10. Send 10,000 low-income veterans into homelessness by cutting in half the number of veterans who get housing vouchers this year.

Sources

Voters: If You Care About The Economy and Jobs, Why Vote Republican?

After cynically rooting against the recovery for two years, Republican lawmakers no longer ignore the signs of progress. Instead, they are shamelessly crediting their new House majority and Obama's bipartisan tax compromise for job creation and GDP growth that predated both. And after campaigning on an incessant chorus of "Where are the jobs?" Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) now says that if Republican policies cause job losses, "so be it. (Source)

Congressman Renacci Raises The Level of His Game

We thought it would be proper to point out that Congressman Jim Renacci (R) appears to be raising the level of his game. Then again, when you set the bar of performance and truthfulness so low that it lays on the ground, clearing it takes very little effort.

During his first town hall (Walsh University/Jan. 10) since joining Congress, Renacci responded to a member of the audience with this line as justification for voting to repeal the health care law:

"I agree with you, there are some good things, but there are also a half a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare that are going to go in place."

I don't think you actually needed to do any research to recognize that this statement seemed a little ridiculous. Common sense would tell you that this doesn't seem right. Fortunately PolitiFact, a Pulitzer Prize winning website, fact-checked this claim and found it to be Barely True.

Here is a part of PolitiFact's assessment of Renacci's claim, which is often repeated by other Republicans:

That statement had a familiar ring to it. We decided it was one worth another look.

Renacci’s exchange with his constituent hit on the same themes as the health care debate in 2010. And more than once during the election season we looked at the claims from Republicans and groups that opposed the reforms that the health care package would cut $500 billion from Medicare.

But it’s important to note that the law does not take $500 billion out of the current Medicare budget, as Renacci and the bill’s foes make it sound. Rather, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act slows the program’s projected growth in Medicare spending by about $500 billion over 10 years.

That’s a big difference.

Medicare spending will still increase. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated it will reach $929 billion in 2020, up from $499 billion in actual spending in 2009. (Link)

So what Renacci is doing is taking a number that does actually exist ($500,000) but completely misrepresents what it means. Instead of using the words "slowing projected growth," he decides to throw in the buzz word "cuts." This completely changes the meaning of what the bill will do with Medicare.

So the question remains. Is Renacci ignorant, or deceitful? I suppose only Renacci and the political people closest to him know whether this misrepresentation is born of a lack of knowledge, or a lack of scruples.

On a positive note, a statement that at least brushes past the truth is better than what he has done before, as noted by both PolitiFact and fact-checking we did of Renacci's debate performance in September 2010.

Obama: The Only Recent President to Cite 'American Exceptionalism'

Only one sitting president in the last 82 years has publicly uttered the magical phrase “American exceptionalism”--care to guess who it is? Ronald Reagan, he of the “shining city on a hill?” George W. Bush, who closed his speeches by asking that “God continue to bless” America? Nope. The only president to publicly discuss (and for that matter embrace) “American exceptionalism” is Barack Obama.

This would be the same president, of course, who is subject to a steadily rising stream of suspicion because of his supposed refusal to give voice sufficient voice to his love of country.

Read more ...

Congress Passes Socialized Medicine and Mandates Health Insurance - In 1798

Rick Ungar lays out a pretty compelling case in Forbes magazine that the Founding Fathers supported the individual mandate (a Republican idea at one time, lest we forget).

Ungar points out that in July of 1798, Congress passed "An Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seaman," which was signed by President Adams. That law authorized the creation of a government operated system of marine hospitals and mandated that laboring merchant marine sailors pay a tax to support it.

Read more ...

GDP Grows in 4th Quarter of 2010

I know it is hard to believe the economy is growing a steady pace with Democrats in charge. Republicans say it isn't so. But the facts tell another story. Real GDP, the total amount of goods and services produced in the country, grew at a 3.2 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter of last year, the sixth straight quarter of positive growth. For 2010 as a whole, GDP rose 2.9 percent, the fastest since 2005.

Here is a chart demonstrating the dramatic turnaround in the GDP since President Obama took office:

The Health Care Repeal Nonsense -- Summarized

Steven Pearlstein from the Washington Post sums up exactly what is going on here. This is a great place to start if you are looking to pen a Letter to the Editor:

"[T]he next time you hear some politician or radio blowhard or corporate hack tossing around the 'job-killing' accusation, you can be pretty sure he's not somebody to be taken seriously. It's a sign that he disrespects your intelligence, disrespects the truth and disrespects the democratic process. By poisoning the political well and making it difficult for our political system to respond effectively to economic challenges, Republicans may turn out to be the biggest job killers of all." (Link)

Since the health care bill was signed into law, 1.1 million jobs have been created in the private sector, and over 200,000 of them have come in the health care field. So how to Republicans like Congressman Renacci say the bill is a job killer. By LYING. Really, it's that simple.