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.

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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.

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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.

Does Congressman Renacci Believe Child-Labor Laws are Unconstitutional?

We ask this question, not to sensationalize, but to see whether the freshman congressman from Ohio's 16th district agrees with the position that newly-elected Republican senator from Utah Mike Lee has taken. That position is that child-labor laws are unconstitutional. This same line of thinking also believes that programs like Social Security, student loans, the minimum wage and civil rights are also unconstitutional. A passage from a letter President Eisenhower (a Republican) wrote his brother in 1954 shows us how far gone the modern Republican party has become:

Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are H. L. Hunt (you possibly know his background), a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid. (Link)

Ultra-Liberal Forbes Magazine Touts Success of ObamaCare

Virtually all of the media is "liberal," so I guess this isn't news that a columnist from a major business magazine would tout the success of the health care law, but here it goes anyway:

The first statistics are coming in and, to the surprise of a great many, Obamacare might just be working to bring health care to working Americans precisely as promised.

The major health insurance companies around the country are reporting a significant increase in small businesses offering health care benefits to their employees.

Why?

Because the tax cut created in the new health care reform law providing small businesses with an incentive to give health benefits to employees is working.

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Wayne County Young Republicans Elevate the Political Discourse

We had a previous post about the childishness of the Wayne County Young Republicans, and I guess we can't expect them to behave in the adult manner that their older counterparts in Washington will be doing the next couple of years, but still, some of their Twitter comments need to be examined a little more closely:

Oct. 25, 2010: "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." (Link)

I don't think they would even know what socialism is, or could define what is bad about it. But since labels are things better used for school-aged children to better understand the world rather than some sort of enlightened political observation, we will just let the numbers speak for themselves.

Sept. 20, 2010: "Come take a bite out of Porkulus! Saturday 6-10 @ Lamplighters in Wooster! $5 per person, portion of proceeds benefit Every Woman's House" (Link)

It's nice they held an event with proceeds going to charity, but again, they couldn't help themselves with the name calling. The "Porkulus" as they call it saved us from another Great Depression -- which would have been the creation of Republican policies. Of course, not only did the stimulus save the economy, it has created million of jobs.

July 27, 2010: Liberals...hard on babies, soft on terrorists. (Link)

Maybe the Young Republicans should check in with President Bush's Director of National Intelligence, Vice Admiral Mike McConnell (ret.), who told CNN that President Obama has been "as aggressive, if not more aggressive" in pursuing terror threats.

July 20, 2010: "Socialism only works in two places: Heaven where they don't need it and hell where they already have it." -Ronald Reagan (Link)

Looks like the Young Republicans need a little history refresher. Tax rates under President Reagan for the top income bracket were significantly more than what President Obama proposed. President Reagan also tripled the national debt. Looks like Reagan was more familiar with Socialism than Republicans want to admit.

July 15, 2010: Cheney has heart device implanted...Biden still on waiting list for a brain... (Link)

Young Republican sense of humor.

July 3, 2010: Happy Independence day to one and all! We said no to tyranny then and we still say no to it now! All you liberals - take note. (Link)

Here the Young Republicans make veiled threat that they will use force to keep down the tyranny of liberals. You know, since the Founding Fathers were Republicans, as are all veterans (trying to bring a little humor to this abhorrent comment).

June 15, 2010: Obama's Cap & Trade scam will prevent future oil spills in the same way that Obamacare will prevent syphilis... (Link)

Tried to come up with a response to this ignorance, but it's hard talking with people who think 2+2=5.

June 13, 2010: Tuesday @ 6:30 pm - Come to Three Amigos in Wooster and celebrate the Arizona immigration law!!! (Link)

I wonder if they had the guts to tell the owners of the restaurant this is what they were celebrating. If they wanted to celebrate the law, they should have found the nearest private prison, since their lobbying group wrote the law.

June 8, 2010: Bobby Jindal has already done more than Obama to try and mitigate the oil spill. (Link)

No matter how much Republicans want to wish it so, President Obama's handling of the Oil Spill was spot on, while Governor Jindal made a fool of himself.

May 31, 2010: Obama - quick to criticize BP but slow to give honors to our nation's fallen. (Link)

Apparently nothing is off limits for the Young Republicans. Talk about no respect for the Office of the Presidency.

May 12, 2010: Cap & Trade criminalizes the act of breathing. (Link)

I wonder if the Young Republicans are comfortable telling Sarah Palin, John McCain, first President Bush, President Reagan, etc., they are criminalizing the act of breathing. Again, study up on history.

April 12, 2010: Being a liberal means smoking dope while complaining about tobacco company CEOs. (Link)

This was either written by a 12-year old or someone smoking dope.

March 31, 2010: Wherever you find rampant crime there you shall find a permissive, liberal government. (Link)

Sounds good, except that it is completely wrong. But then again, facts don't matter, just a nice soundbite. Of course we won't mention how within the first year of that tough-conservative government that President Bush oversaw we saw the largest successful act terrorism ever on American soil.

March 21, 2010: I'd take a chill pill about the passing of Pelosi-Care but the government would deny my Rx... (Link)

Must have lost their talking point notes that day, calling it "Pelosi-Care" instead of "ObamaCare."

March 11, 2010: The only smart thing 1960’s era liberals ever said was, “Question authority.” Too bad their drug-addled minds have lost that principle. (Link)

They seem unusually obsessed with drugs here, sort of like Rush Limbaugh.

March 9, 2010: When the feminists shouted, “Keep your laws off of my body,” did that include ObamaCare??? (Link)

They've gone from mocking liberals and the '60s (the birth of the feminist movement) to speaking for them.

Nov. 18, 2009: Urban Dictionary's 2nd definition of Obama is "The Messiah for brain-dead Democrats." Goodbye Webster....Hello Urban Dictionary! (Link)

Last but not least, nothing like creating a label (Messiah) then using it as a criticism of the President, as if he or any of his supporters ever thought or called him that.

Game, Set & Match To Republican & Teabaggers' No. 1 Talking Point

President Obama is a socialist who is bad for employment, bad for business, bad for growth and bad for America, right? That's what Republicans and their brethren the Teabaggers would have you believe. Heck, even our new congressional representative Jim Renacci (R), continually went to the "uncertainty" in the economy talking point that amazingly was uttered by every Republican in the country last year. I wonder what their response would be to this graph?

Read more of what should be a devastating and total rebuke of the Republican Party, but then again this information isn't secret, yet people voted for Republicans anyway.

Obama's 2010: By the Numbers

At any given point during the past two years, both Republicans and Teabaggers (and sometimes the media) have criticized the President for both working too hard and not enough; for taking too much vacation but forcing Congress to work too hard; too not being accessible enough to the media and the public, etc. Well, CBS News detailed, in numbers, pretty much everything President Obama did in 2010, and it is very impressive. While they don't provide equivalent numbers for President George W. Bush, I imagine they far surpass the efforts he made in this area:

Speeches, statements and remarks: 491

-Since taking office: 883

News conferences and press availabilities: 27

-Formal, solo White House Press Conferences: 6

-Since taking office: 69 total, 11 WH.

Town hall meetings: 17

-Since taking office: 40

-Backyard chats: 7

Domestic trips: 65 spanning 104 days

-Since taking office: 111 spanning 176 days

States visited for the first time: 9

-Since taking office: 38

Vacation trips: 6 (all or part of 32 days)

-Since taking office: 10 spanning 58 days

Foreign trips: 6 trips to 8 countries spanning 22 days.

-Since taking office: 16 trips to 25 countries spanning 70 days.

Flights on Air Force One: 172

-Since taking office: 328

Flights on Marine One: 196

-Since taking office: 386

Unemployment Rates:

-January 8 2010: 10 percent.

-December 3, 2010: 9.8 percent.

National Debt in 2010: Up $1.56-trillion

-January 1, 2010: $12.311-trillion

-December 28, 2010: $13.871-trillion

Bills signed in 2010: 203.

-Since taking office: 329.

Cabinet meetings: 6

-Since taking office: 12

Visits to Camp David:

-In 2010: 4 visits, 8 days.

-Since taking office: 15 visits: 35 days.

Recreation:

-Golf: 29 rounds in 2010

-Since taking office: 57 rounds.

-Basketball: 20 basketball outings.

-Since taking office: 28

Interviews: 107 in 2010

-Since taking office: 254

Meetings with foreign leaders: In 2010, President Obama had face-to-face meetings with 61 foreign leaders, 30 for the first time.

Days of no appearances: 24

-Since taking office: 45

Presidential pardons: 9

-President Obama granted the first and only pardons of his presidency on Dec 3, 2010.

"Obamacare" Kicks in Jan. 1

We've previously talked about how childish it is that Republicans use the term "Obamacare" for the health care bill, but since even major media outlets are using the term in their headlines (in this case positively), I guess we can't ignore it. Better yet, lets turn the term into something that is actually accurate — "Obama cares."

President Obama: Two Years of Progress

Unprecedented Progress Over the Past Two Years

You have to look and listen real hard to the "liberal media" to know this (OK, you still won't learn it), but the past two years is on the very short list of most productive years, both for Congress and the President, of all time. Here is a short list of what was done:

• 3.2 million jobs saved or created thanks to the Recovery Act,
• 6.7 million small businesses eligible for the health care tax credit under the Affordable Care Act,
• 111.4 million middle class families (95%) receiving a tax cut through the Recovery Act,
• 5.6 million Americans with pre-existing conditions who can no longer be denied coverage thanks to the $5 billion high risk pool,
• 161,000 teaching jobs saved through state aid, and
• Almost 4,000 Recovery Act projects for clean, safe energy production.

A new website has been put together that allows you track, in real-time numbers, the progress that has been made in areas economy, health and education over the past two years. You can even get information within your specific zip code. Here is a snapshot of what this progress looked like in late December:

Learn more ...

Voters Say November Election Full of Misleading and False Information

Filed under the category of "tell me something that I don't already know," a poll found that 9 in 10 voters said that in the 2010 election they encountered information they believed was misleading or false, with 56% saying this occurred frequently. While the majority of this information was coming from Republicans (our opinion, but considering PolitiFact's last two Lies of the Year came from Republicans about the health care bill, our assessment stands on pretty solid ground), voters overwhelmingly voted for Republicans in November.

Why did this happen? Because voters, inexplicably in our assessment, believed a lot of the misinformation and lies being spread. And how do we know this? This same poll asked some specific policy questions, and the results were remarkable (and troubling). Here is a sampling:

• Though the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) concluded that the stimulus legislation has saved or created 2.0-5.2 million jobs, only 8% of voters thought most economists who had studied it concluded that the stimulus legislation had created or saved several million jobs. Most (68%) believed that economists estimate that it only created or saved a few jobs and 20% even believed that it resulted in job losses.
• Though the CBO concluded that the health reform law would reduce the budget deficit, 53% of voters thought most economists have concluded that health reform will increase the deficit.
• Though the Department of Commerce says that the US economy began to recover from recession in the third quarter of 2009 and has continued to grow since then, only 44% of voters thought the economy is starting to recover, while 55% thought the economy is still getting worse.
• Though the National Academy of Sciences has concluded that climate change is occurring, 45% of voters thought most scientists think climate change is not occurring (12%) or that scientists are evenly divided (33%).
• 86% assumed their taxes had gone up (38%) or stayed the same (48%), while only 10% were aware that their taxes had gone down since 2009
  

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