Graph of the Day for November 4, 2009
Randall Hoven
Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/11/graph_of_the_day_for_november_3.html at November 04, 2009 – 08:52:02 PM EST
Randall Hoven
Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/11/graph_of_the_day_for_november_3.html at November 04, 2009 – 08:52:02 PM EST
November 4th, 2009
By Matthew Vadum, American Spectator
The Obama Acorn connection runs deep
The newly released list of visitors to the Obama White House makes the president’s claim he’s clueless about his former employer ACORN — and its election fraud trials and tribulations — especially difficult to believe.
Of particular significance is the visit by ACORN spokesman Scott Levenson who met with White House political director Patrick Gaspard in March. The purpose of the meeting with Gaspard, a former ACORN employee himself, was not disclosed.
Levenson, who is also a registered lobbyist for New York ACORN, is the charming fellow whom Glenn Beck threw off his set May 6 for calling the TV host a racist. He’s been helping to coordinate ACORN’s public disinformation strategy which relies heavily on lies and misdirection.
It is worth noting that Levenson’s visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue wouldn’t in itself be untoward except that Obama claims — unconvincingly — to be out of the loop regarding ACORN.
Insurgency in Congress
We the People to come knocking on Congress door
By Judi McLeod Tuesday, November 3, 2009
“We the People” will come knocking on Congress’ door noon hour, Thursday.
In another era, it was Paul Revere red flagging patriots with the immortal words, “The British are coming!”.
Until patriots arrive on Congress steps Thursday at noon, it’s “We the People are coming!” The courageous, Paul Revere like call to action is from bottom liner Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, who wouldn’t let Democrats—who changed the locks on doors against the opposition—keep her from turning the tide on the countdown to Obamacare.
Waiting on the Congress steps will be radio talk-show giant, bestselling Liberty & Tyranny author and beloved American folk hero Mark Levin along with “Midnight Cowboy”, “Obama-is-the-false-prophet” crusader Jon Voight.
Being blacked out and bypassed by the mainstream media has only made Bachmann all the more determined to flood Congress with patriots.
Within mere hours of her rally call, the Tea Party Express together with the doctors of Take Back America and the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, the patriots of Tea Party Patriots Live and Resistnet vowed to “Stand together, speak from the heart and remind Washington we will stand together to protect this country.”
“For months we have all been working feverishly to make sure that government run health care legislation is not passed. We have done it all,” writes Amy Kremer of Tea Party Express.
“We’ve yelled.
“We’ve called.
“We’ve emailed.
“We’ve written.
“We’ve rallied.
“We’ve even marched on the Capitol.
“Still our cries and concerns have not been heard.
“We have cried tears of despair and shouted in frustration, but still many are not listening.”
Michele Bachmann heard, and what started out as the lone voice of a single representative will be joined across the nation by patriots who could not make it to DC on the the notice allowed singing “God Bless America” across the fruited plains.
“Insurgency in Congress” was the subject line of an email the Minnesota representative sent to Rush Limbaugh yesterday. “We’re asking the American people to make an emergency house call on Congress at noon on the capitol steps Thursday to remind Congress what the people said at town hall and tea parties last August. If real freedom-loving Americans come to Washington and walk up and down the halls of the office buildings and the capitol tracking down congressman, looking them in the whites of their eyes and getting them on videotape, then I think we can kill this thing.” (RushLimbaugh.com, Nov. 2, 2009). “If we can kill health care this week in the House, I think we will kill it for the next ten years. We have Jon Voight and Mark Levin confirmed, also Betsy McCaughey.”
Bachmann could add that “We the People have the silent but powerful presence of the Founding Fathers, fallen soldiers who gave their lives for the freedom of others and patriots from America’s glorious history who would not believe what is happening in America today.
This Paul Revere fully understands that it will be a monumental task turning back the tide: “We’ll have a meet-up at the Capitol steps and then the insurgency begins. It’s a big task, but it’s the best way to really kill the bill, which is our goal. Your support in any manner could make all the difference.”
Obama, whose helicopter flew over more than a million American patriots on the 9/12 gathering in DC on his was to Minnesota, and who is now boasting, “I may be skinny but I’m tough”, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be working overtime to put the rubber-stamp on Obamacare by Friday, Nov. 6th.
Tweets will keep patriots together beginning 12:15 p.m. Thursday before patriots at the Capitol and across the nation sing “God Bless America”. Patriots can update their location and progress throughout the day using Twitter hashtag #killbill.
Freedom lovers the world over count on America as the leader of the Free World. Their hopes and dreams are riding on the America Patriots working to save America.
Their cheer, growing louder by the day is: “Go, Patriots, go!”
WASHINGTON — Republican gubernatorial wins in New Jersey and Virginia mark a troubling turn for President Obama, whose personal efforts couldn’t stop the fall of Democrats facing a voter backlash over the economy and a notable uptick in the government’s would-be role in people’s lives.
Obama’s 2008 victory in Old Dominion had marked an historic breakthrough for Democrats who hadn’t won Virginia’s electoral votes since 1964. The fight in the Garden State was more grueling than usually accompanies Democratic campaigns in the reliably blue state of New Jersey.
So the setbacks demonstrate the difficulty of presidential leadership following a campaign built on promises of unity followed by divisive policies and a relentless campaign approach toward big legislative issues like the stimulus and health care bills.
“What this is tonight, this victory here tonight, is a warning shot, and it says to the moderate Democrats in the House that they ought to think twice about continuing to pursue the policies of this White House and (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi,” said Virginia Republican Rep. Eric Cantor.
In Virginia, Republican Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell roundly defeated Democrat R. Creigh Deeds while GOP Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling won a second term and Republican Ken Cuccinelli was elected attorney general. It was the first time the GOP took the top three spots since 1997.
“We have really had a run of wins and we got used to winning and that makes it tough,” said outgoing Virginia Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine. “We have to give credit where credit is do they ran a great campaign.”
“You guys are making this tougher than this has to be,” a resigned Deeds told the still chanting audience at his “victory party.”
In New Jersey, Republican Chris Christie pulled off a stunning upset over incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine, who was facing a backlash over property taxes and other economic issues. Independent Chris Daggett also pulled about 6 percent of the vote.
In New York’s 23rd Congressional District, an unexpected turn of events put Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in direct competition with Democrat Bill Owens for the seat held by former Republican congressman and current Obama Army Secretary John McHugh. Owens was winning the vote tally but Hoffman’s upstart showing demonstrated that voter anger is not resigned to one party or another.
As if hoping to avoid the outcome, the White House issued a statement after the GOP win in Virginia saying the president was not watching election returns and would not be making any remarks on the results.
Nonetheless, the outcomes were sure to feed discussion about the state of the electorate, the status of the diverse coalition that sent Obama to the White House and the limits of the president’s influence — on the party’s base of support and on moderate current lawmakers he needs to advance his legislative priorities.
“I think what this night does is it completely explodes the mythology of the meaning of the 2008 election,” said syndicated columnist and Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer.
“You will remember after the 2008 election people talked … about a new era, about the Republicans becoming a rump party of the south, even losing parts of the south, how this was the death of conservatism. … Here we are a year later and we can see how ephemeral and one-shot 2008 was,” he added.
The president had personally campaigned for Deeds and Corzine, raising the stakes in low-energy off-year elections. Thus, even one Democratic loss, much less two, was a blot on Obama’s political standing to a certain degree and signaled potential problems ahead as he seeks to achieve his policy goals, protect Democratic majorities in Congress and expand his party’s grip on governors’ seats next fall.
However, Tuesday’s impact on Obama’s standing and on the 2010 elections could easily be overstated and over-analyzed.
Only two of the 50 U.S. states were holding gubernatorial elections. Voters often were focused on local issues and local personalities. Indeed, most people in Virginia and New Jersey said they were not casting ballots because of their feelings about Obama.
Yet national issues, such as the recession were a factor, with voter attitudes shaped to some degree by how people felt about the state of their nation.
It also was difficult to separate Obama from the outcomes after he devoted much time working to persuade voters to elect Deeds and re-elect Corzine. Obama campaigned in person for both and was featured in their advertisements. He characterized the two as necessary allies in the White House’s effort to advance his plans.
He also deployed his political campaign arm, Organizing for America, to try to ensure the swarms of party loyalists and new voters he attracted in 2008 would turn out.
But according to exit polls, among voters who made up their minds in the last few days, a majority of them broke for Corzine. That suggests Obama’s aggressive campaigning paid off in the state.
Exit polls showed that nearly a third of voters in Virginia Tuesday described themselves as independents, and they preferred the Republican to the Democrat by almost a 2-1 margin.
The outcome showed that “the Obama movement, the coalition, isn’t transferable,” said Democratic strategist Kirsten Powers, a Fox News contributor. “There was a decline in minority voters, a decline in young voters. You weren’t seeing these people who turned out in huge force for Obama turning out for other Democrats. And so they’re now going to have to step back and say, ‘Wait a minute, I’m going to have to take care of myself.’”
But the Democratic losses in Virginia and New Jersey could also be a blot on Obama’s political standing to some degree.
Obama needs all the lawmakers he can get to pass his legislative priorities of health care and climate change. Defeats Tuesday could make it harder for him to persuade moderate Democrats from conservative areas to get on board. They have been hearing from voters worried about his expansion of government at a time of rising deficits.
As if on cue, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid also indicated Tuesday that Congress may not complete health care legislation this year, missing Obama’s deadline on his signature issue and pushing debate into a congressional election year.
The vote is “more about the policies of the president more than the personalities,” said Washington Times columnist Tony Blankely. “The public is getting really scared of his policies and I think that’s what we’re seeing in all of these elections. … Obama has moved the policy so far to the left that now you’re seeing this big movement back and I think we’re only seeing the beginning of it.”
Defeats could point to future problems for Democrats, particularly in moderate districts and in swing states like Ohio, Colorado and Nevada. In 2010, most governors, a third of the Senate and all members of the House of Representatives will be on ballots.
Still, Democrats suggest the Tuesday night wins are anything but helpful to the Republican Party.
“They’re in a civil war over the definition of their party,” said Paul Blank, a Democratic consultant. “And the extremists have won.”
November 4th, 2009
By JONATHAN KARL, ABC News
Obamacare will make healthcare more expensive, not less
Senior Congressional Democrats told ABC News today it is highly unlikely that a health care reform bill will be completed this year, just a week after President Barack Obama declared he was “absolutely confident” he’ll be able to sign one by then.
“Getting this done by the by the end of the year is a no-go,” a senior Democratic leadership aide told ABC News. Two other key Congressional Democrats also told ABC News the same thing.
This may come as an unwelcome surprise for the White House, where officials from the president on down have repeatedly said the health care bill would be signed into law by the end of the year.
“I am absolutely confident that we are going to get health care done by the end of this year, and Nancy Pelosi is just as confident,” Obama said Oct. 27 at a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi may still be confident — and her spokesman Brendan Daly said today, “We are going to get our part done” — but the reason for the delay can be found in the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has yet to release the bill he eventually plans to bring to the Senate floor. Reid is still waiting for the Congressional Budget Office to come up with an estimated cost of several possible variations of his bill before deciding which one to introduce in the Senate.
Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/11/forget_the_21_spin_it_was_a_ro.html at November 04, 2009 – 08:38:03 AM EST