Pelosi Claims Democrats Won’t Run From Obamacare

By William Teach March 14, 2014 – 6:58 am

That’s incredibly easy for her to say, being in an ultra-safe seat. She should perhaps consult with those in not so safe seats, especially in the Senate

(Real Clear Politics) Nancy Pelosi said her Democratic colleagues should not shy from the Affordable Care Act in their 2014 midterm campaigns, arguing that Republicans “are wasting their time using that as their electoral issue.”

The House minority leader’s comments came in the aftermath of a two-point special election victory for Republicans in Florida’s 13th Congressional District. Some observers believe the win forecasts difficulties ahead for Democrats, as their opponents are sure to use the unpopular health care law and the president’s poor approval rating as campaign issues.

But Pelosi insisted Thursday that that strategy would be in vain. “It’s time for Republicans to end their obsession with the Affordable Care Act,” she said. Asked whether Democrats should steer clear of the health law in congressional campaigns, she answered, “Absolutely not.”

“I’m very proud of our House Democrats and how they have not only embraced the Affordable Care Act, because they helped create it, but how proud they are of it,” she told reporters at her weekly briefing. “I think the Republicans are wasting their time using that as their electoral issue, and they will find that out.”

There you go, Democrats have embraced the destruction of our health insurance and health care systems, a law so bad and politically damaging that Mr. Obama has unilaterally, and sometimes illegally, delayed/changed portions of the law in order to attempt to protect Democrats from voter dissatisfaction.

Democrats are going to spend lots of time coming up with just the right message for the mid-terms, which will revolve around “fixing” Obamacare. Perhaps if they had read and understood the reality of the legislation prior to passage, the damage that it would do to health insurance, health care, jobs, and the economy overall, they might have reconsidered their votes and support. Alas, the entire thing is owned by Democrats. They can spin, but they can’t hide.

When asked Thursday about the GOP’s campaign approach to Obamacare in light of the Florida election, Boehner said jobs and the economy resonate with the electorate, and that the health care law should be approached within that context.

“As you’ve heard me say more than once, the issue is jobs. There aren’t enough jobs out there, we’re not expanding the economy, and we’re not increasing wages because of the president’s policies. Chief among those policies hurting the economy is the issue of Obamacare,” he told reporters, noting recently announced administration changes to allow some insurance policy holders to keep plans that don’t comply with the law until next year — a move intended to help Democrats in the midterms.

Looks like Republicans have their own mid-term plan in place, highlighting the anemic economy and how Obamacare is stifling growth.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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The Many Faces Of Kay Hagan

By William Teach March 13, 2014 – 6:47 pm

The Raleigh News and Observer wonders if the Fla-13 special election, which was won by a Republican, offers clues into what is in store for Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC). Which Kay, though?

(WSJ) Defying physics, ObamaCare has managed to create energies where none existed before: confusion over policies, anger over lost doctors, panic over costs. Most amazing has been the law’s ability to produce entirely new Washington life forces. The scientific formula goes like this: Another day + Another ObamaCare disaster = A New Kay Hagan.

Back in 2008, North Carolinians were introduced to Bipartisan Kay, a hope-and-change candidate who argued that Sen. Elizabeth Dole was a lackey for a partisan George W. Bush. “It is time for someone to reach across party lines,” explained Bipartisan Kay. “Voting 92% of time with the president . . . doesn’t work here in North Carolina.” She won.

By early 2009, ObamaCare already was working its weird science, producing within a few months the All-In-For-Obama Kay. The freshman senator embraced the president’s partisan bill, provided a crucial Senate vote, promised two dozen times that those who liked their plan could keep it, and explained that the law would create jobs. All-In Kay lasted quite a while. As recently as August she was insisting that there were “a lot of positives” in the Affordable Care Act, and that she’d “be honored” to have President Obama campaign for her re-election in 2014.

Then came the great ObamaCare meltdown of October. Overnight, the North Carolina senator’s office became home to Frustrated (And Not My Fault) Kay. It was “unacceptable,” she said, that North Carolinians couldn’t enroll in new plans. Frustrated Kay was eager to explain that this was an implementation problem, and moreover the fault of an Obama administration that “must improve their communications with the American people.”

Then we have Fix-it-Kay, Outraged Kay, and many other Kays. Come November, she will be Unemployed Kay.

Read: The Many Faces Of Kay Hagan »

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Home Protection Sign With Gun Causes People To Get The Vapors

By William Teach March 13, 2014 – 2:41 pm

A Cary woman has declared her anti-anti-gun free zone

(WRAL) The homeowners association in a Cary neighborhood has threatened to fine a woman who posted a graphic sign outside her home to scare off would-be burglars.

The sign reads “Nothing Inside is Worth Dying For” and shows the outline of a man used for target shooting that had been shot twice in the head and five times in the chest.

Obviously, this caused much handwringing, some folks got the vapors, and someone complained

An association spokeswoman said Wednesday that the content of the sign isn’t an issue, but Cherico didn’t apply for permission to post it.

“We have security signs in the neighborhood, and I thought this is my security sign,” said Cherico, a gun owner who has a conceal carry permit.

Then the story kinda changes

She said security signs typically don’t need prior approval, but the association spokeswoman said other residents have complained about the sign.

I heard an interview with Ms. Cherico this morning, and she claims that there is nothing in the bylaws against the sign. But, then, it isn’t about the sign, it’s about the gun.

Though, in all fairness, the sign might be a bit over the top with the holes.

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If All You See…

By William Teach March 13, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is a flooded drought world, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Sister Toldjah, with a post on the always remarkable Sheila Jackson Lee.

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Bummer: Climate Change Lecture Cancelled Due To Snow

By William Teach March 13, 2014 – 10:34 am

Hello, Gore Effect!

(Windsor Star) You may be tempted to snicker at the irony that a discussion on climate change at the University of Windsor was called off due to Wednesday’s wild weather.

But plant biologist Catherine Potvin’s afternoon lecture was only one of many special events and regularly scheduled activities that were shut down by the sudden snowstorm.

I’m snickering. How about you? Unless you are a Warmist, then you’re blaming snow on too much heat from GHGs. Let’s look at the “wild weather” link

The bad news is that Windsor utterly smashed its winter snowfall record on Wednesday. The really bad news? This may not be the last blast of the year.

According to Environment Canada’s weather hotline, the March 12 snowfall total as of 9:30 p.m. at Windsor Airport was 12 centimetres — more than enough for this winter’s snowfall total to bust the previous all-time record.

“It’s a lot of snow, for sure,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Geoff Coulson earlier in the day. “Unfortunately, given the forecast over the next couple of weeks, we could still be adding to it after that.”

Windsor’s previous snowfall record — set in the winter of 2004 and 2005 — was 225.5 cm.

Furthermore, the prediction for this morning was to see a low of -17C, which would smash the record of -13.9C for March 13th. According to the Weather Channel, it is -15C in Windsor right now.

(CBC) “And with respect to temperature, [it’s been] the coldest winter since the winter of ’78-79,” Environment Canada meteorologist Geoff Coulson said.

That was back when the media was worried about a coming ice age. Wait, wait, sorry, I forgot, cold is also caused by too much heat.

BTW, Detroit is 2.9 inches away from tying their seasonal snow record. Set in 1880-1881. Toledo, Ohio, is 51 inches above normal for snow.

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Barbara Boxer Has Lessons From The Senate Climate Change Sleepover

By William Teach March 13, 2014 – 7:18 am

One of them is that because you drove a fossil fueled vehicle, it’s really cold in Minnesota, as she writes in an opinion piece for the Huffington Post

Second, every state in the U.S. is already experiencing the effects of climate change.

During the all-night session, it was fascinating to listen to my Senate colleagues from across the country — North, South, East and West — as they discussed what people in their states are experiencing now and the threats they face from climate change — including extreme weather.

Senator Tom Udall and Senator Martin Heinrich talked about the impacts of severe droughts in New Mexico and throughout the Southwest, and Senator Bill Nelson discussed the devastating effects of sea level rise in the state of Florida. Senator Ben Cardin told us how climate change puts the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland at risk, and Senator Ed Markey said his home state of Massachusetts loses an average of 49 football fields of land to rising sea levels each year.

Senator Al Franken talked about how the extreme cold has contributed to a serious propane shortage in Minnesota. Senator Angus King told us about the negative impacts on the lobster industry in Maine, and Senator Mark Udall spoke about how wildfires in Colorado are becoming more frequent and more intense.

How can one not see that this is a cult, when they blame “extreme cold” on greenhouse gases? Seriously, blaming cold on gases that trap heat? Warmists like to refer to skeptics as “anti-science”. Warmists should be referred to as “un-science”, because there is really no science involved with what they yammer on about.

First, climate change is real and the deniers are losing ground.

Is it appropriate for a sitting US Senator to refer to skeptics … remember, skepticism is a major component of science … as deniers, a term meant to compare those who do not believe in mostly/solely man-caused “climate change” to those who do not believe in the Holocaust? You can Tweet Ms. Boxer here, ask her about the propriety.

Ninety-seven percent of climate experts now say with virtual certainty that the planet is warming due mainly to human activities which have increased the amount of carbon pollution in our air. The level of scientific certainty on man-made climate change is about the same as the consensus among top scientists that cigarettes are deadly.

Of course, that 97% has been debunked heavily multiple times. If you’re calling it carbon, well, your science just went out the window. And the real consensus is 95%, which is the percentage of climate models that have failed.

An overwhelming majority of the American public recognizes that climate change is real and is happening now, and there is strong support for action to address this growing threat.

Yet, concerns over the climate rank at the bottom of American concerns in poll after poll. Strange, eh?

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Krauthammer: Hardship Exemption Essentially Cancels Mandate

By William Teach March 13, 2014 – 6:47 am

You’ve probably heard about this one by now: Team Obama has changed the hardship exemption rules

(WSJ) But amid the post-rollout political backlash, last week the agency created a new category: Now all you need to do is fill out a form attesting that your plan was cancelled and that you “believe that the plan options available in the [ObamaCare] Marketplace in your area are more expensive than your cancelled health insurance policy” or “you consider other available policies unaffordable.”

This lax standard—no formula or hard test beyond a person’s belief—at least ostensibly requires proof such as an insurer termination notice. But people can also qualify for hardships for the unspecified nonreason that “you experienced another hardship in obtaining health insurance,” which only requires “documentation if possible.” And yet another waiver is available to those who say they are merely unable to afford coverage, regardless of their prior insurance. In a word, these shifting legal benchmarks offer an exemption to everyone who conceivably wants one.

What does all that mean? (video at the link)

(Daily Caller) “[HHS Secretary] Sebelius is implying it was in the plan all the time, in the bill,” Krauthammer replied. “Yes, it was. But it was very narrowly defined. It meant if you lost your house, you lost your job, if you are living in the back of a VW, then you are a hardship case and you are exempt from the individual mandate.”

“It’s now been redefined,” he continued, “so that all you have to do is to claim that going into the exchange would create a hardship. I mean, it’s ironic. It makes Obamacare itself the hardship — which is slightly ironic, but I think she is beyond the reach of irony so she didn’t quite see it.”

“All you have to do is say, ‘You know, this is hard on me,”’ Krauthammer explained. “You sign a paper, you don’t have to provide any other documentation. It’s essentially a cancellation of the mandate.”

As Ezra Klein noted in December, “Obamacare itself is the hardship”.

George Will saw more irony in the rule change. “They told the Supreme Court, ‘It’s absolutely crucial that we have the individual mandate,’” he said. “Turns out nothing is crucial. Therefore, nothing is almost left of Obamacare.”

Meanwhile, HHS head Kathleen Sebelius was in front of the House Ways and Means Committee Wednesday, and, as usual, had no answers to direct questions. She had no idea how many people had paid their premiums. No idea as to the age makeup for those obtaining insurance. No idea how many signups had previously lost their health insurance due to the requirements. Yet, she and Obama can yammer on about millions signing up? Oh, and she told the panel that people can expect their premiums to go up next year.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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How’d Pushing Climate Change Work For Dems In Fla-13?

By William Teach March 12, 2014 – 2:41 pm

Well, I’m sure by now you know that Nancy Pelosi compatriot Alex Sink lost

(Forbes) The national media this morning are calling Democrat Alex Sink’s surprise defeat in a bellwether special Congressional election yesterday a foreboding referendum on Obamacare. Perhaps this is so, but only slightly less noteworthy is Sink supporters’ failed attempt to turn victorious Republican David Jolly’s global warming skepticism into a political albatross.

Having just moved into Florida’s U.S. House District 13, I was shocked these past two weeks to discover how global warming became the central issue dominating television’s political commercials. Granted, I haven’t been watching much television, as moving from one house to another has been nearly a full-time job. Nevertheless, it seemed I couldn’t go 15 minutes into my limited viewing schedule without seeing the same Sierra Club/League of Conservation Voters commercial excoriating Jolly for being a global warming skeptic. I honestly can’t recall seeing any other political commercials these past two weeks, either pro-Sink or pro-Jolly. However, I must have seen the global warming commercial at least a dozen times.

Jolly didn’t bother fighting back against the “climate change” attacks, which was actually a wise move, which showed voters that the issue was too tiny to even bother with. Jolly stayed on message, mostly about the “Affordable” Care Act being a disaster.

This also goes to show that the Democrats focus on this issue really goes nowhere with voters, excluding the unhinged base, which would vote Dem anyhow. It’s no wonder Senate Democrats had no legislation to go with their Monday night sleepover whinefest about “climate change”.

Just to be clear, Sink also complained about oil drilling (while driving around in a fossil fueled vehicle to campaign events and fundraisers) and discussed her unwavering support for abortion on demand.

Read: How’d Pushing Climate Change Work For Dems In Fla-13? »

Posted in Democrats, Elections, Global Warming | 9 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach March 12, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is some evil dude driving an evil fossil fueled machine which creates hot snow, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Moonbattery, with post on racism as the driving force in liberal politics.

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Bummer: “Climate Change” Still Ranks Near Bottom Of American’s Concerns

By William Teach March 12, 2014 – 10:55 am

Warmists have been pushing this issue for 25+ years. They’ve spent God-knows how much money, both private and public, pushing “climate change” awareness, attending conferences, preaching, etc, and they’ve browbeat people on a constant basis, yet this is what they’ve accomplished

(Gallup) Twenty-eight U.S. senators held an all-night “talkathon” Monday to call attention to climate change, an issue that only 24% of Americans say they worry about a great deal. This puts climate change, along with the quality of the environment, near the bottom of a list of 15 issues Americans rated in Gallup’s March 6-9 survey. The economy, federal spending, and healthcare dominate Americans’ worries.

Here’s the breakdown

Good job, Warmists: mission accomplished. This continues a trend where “climate change” tends to come in last or close to last.

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