“Democratic pollsters Patrick Caddell and Douglas Schoen warned party members that if they passed the bill in defiance of public opinion, they would “run the risk of unmitigated disaster in November.” Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., called enactment “a historic mistake.”
Massachusetts voters shouted “Stop” when they elected Republican Scott Brown to the Senate in January. “One thing is clear,” Brown said on Election Night. “Voters do not want the trillion-dollar health care bill that is being forced on the American people.” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee this year, told reporters, “This will make sure that health care is the No. 1 issue that the election is won or lost on in November.”
…If Republicans do run on repeal, however, two things will happen. First, they will rally the Democratic Party’s base. Ever since the health care debate started last June, opponents of reform have felt more intensely about the issue than have supporters. Nearly every poll showed more strong opposition than strong support, often by ratios of 2-to-1. That could change if Republicans threaten to undo the measure.
Obama told House Democrats before the vote that once he signs health care reform legislation, “it’s going to be a little harder [for opponents] to mischaracterize what this effort has been all about.” Some of the most popular insurance reforms will take effect this year. Insurance companies will no longer be able to exclude children with pre-existing conditions, or drop coverage if people get sick, or impose lifetime limits on coverage. Those Americans who have health insurance and are satisfied with it — and that’s the overwhelming majority — will discover that nothing much has changed. They can keep their health insurance and their doctor.
They will also discover that they have new rights and benefits. It’s always risky to threaten to take away anybody’s rights and benefits. Democrats, even those who were originally skeptical, will rally to the cause of defending them.
Second, voters are unlikely to want to return to the status quo ante reform. Yes, the public had a lot of qualms about the Democratic bill. But one thing was perfectly clear from all the polls taken over the past year: People were dissatisfied with the status quo. They wanted change. Maybe not this particular bill, but they wanted change.”
“Former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s al-Iraqiya bloc has won the most seats in Iraq’s parliament. Polls before the election showed a very comfortable lead for al-Maliki’s State of Law coalition, which came in a very close second. The biggest loser was the Iraqi National Alliance, a bloc of pro-Iran Shiite religious parties.
In a previous article (click here), I said that the elections were a major defeat for Iran—and I said that thinking Allawi would come in a close second. I have been shocked that the media doesn’t see how truly significant this victory is.
Allawi once worked with the CIA as an opposition leader trying to overthrow Saddam Hussein. He was so secular and pro-American that the U.S. handed power over to him as the country’s first post-Saddam prime minister in late June 2004. He was widely criticized in his country for authorizing the offensive against Fallujah later that year, and left office widely seen as an American puppet. In 2010, this so-called American puppet’s political bloc received the most votes in Iraq, despite Iranian influence operations.
What’s even more important is what Iraqis voted for in choosing Allawi. He is a staunch secularist and opponent of Iran and Syria. His campaign focused on cross-sectarianism, bringing the Sunnis into his coalition. The fact that the Sunnis voted for a bloc led by a secular Shiite can’t be overlooked. The Iraqis want secular rule that brings together the country.”
The people are flocking to the small town of Searchlight, Nev., with a population of only 800. They’re coming to kick off a 20-day national Tea Party Express tour that ends in Washington, D.C. The “Showdown in Searchlight” on March 27 is expected to be a mega rally of historic proportions for the tiny town.
“This is going to be, by far, the most memorable and unique tea party that has ever been, since Americans actually threw tea into the Boston Harbor,” Tea Party Express spokesman Levi Russell told WND. “The setting will be out in the middle of the desert with nothing but sagebrush and Joshua trees around. We’re transforming it into a ‘Conservative Woodstock.'”
The owner of the rally location has offered his land as a campsite Friday night for anyone who arrives with a motorhome, camper or tent to pitch. For those who prefer to stay in a hotel, Las Vegas is just a one-hour drive from the rally. Russell said there is still time for Americans to make plans to attend and urged voters to come and make their voices heard – by Reid himself.
“We’re two miles from Harry Reid’s house, so he can sit out on his porch swing and hear us talking about him,” Russell explained. “I think anyone who misses it is going to regret it.”
The event is free and will feature Gov. Sarah Palin and a host of other guests, including 2008 libertarian vice presidential candidate Wayne Allyn Root, WND columnists Roger Hedgecock and Melanie Morgan, Joe the Plumber, commentator Andrew Breitbart and former “Saturday Night Live” regular Victoria Jackson.
“We the voters are about to have a showdown with Harry Reid in his hometown of Searchlight, Nev.,” a video invitation from Tea Party Express announces. “And you’re invited to help us kick Harry out of the Senate and send him back home for an early retirement.”
Organizers ask attendees to bring their best signs, lawn chairs, blankets, snacks and bottled water. Dozens of buses are coming from as far away as Texas.
“Most importantly, bring your patriotism and determination to take our country back from the failed politicians,” Tea Party Express advises.
“We want Reid to be out there sipping some ice tea and thinking about his retirement, which is coming very soon,” Russell said. “We’re going to be welcoming him home to Searchlight by throwing him a great retirement party.”
“Venezuela takes yet another step towards becoming a Sean Penn Paradise. Hugo Chavez had Guillermo Zuloaga, president of Globovision Television, arrested forallegedly making offensive comments about Chavez, a crime in Hugo’s fiefdom these days. And it’s not the only significant person now in prison for insulting the President-for-Life, either:
Today, the Venezuelan government arrested Guillermo Zuloaga, president of Globovision Television, the only remaining television on public airwaves critical of Hugo Chavez. According to the government, Zuloaga made offensive comments about Chavez (which is against the law in Venezuela) while speaking at a conference of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) in Aruba, where media representatives criticized the Venezuelan regime’s crackdown on freedom of speech. …
“It is becoming a crime to have an opinion.” That’s how Carlos Zuloaga summed it up this afternoon when he referred to this incident and the recent arrest of former Venezuelan state governor Oswaldo Alvarez Paz for having said during a Globovision interview that Venezuela has become a drug-trafficking haven.
How will hemispheric leaders and the Organization of American States react to this renewed attack on free speech in Venezuela?
Hemispheric leaders such as the Castro Brothers and Daniel Ortega? I’d doubt we’ll hear much from them. After all, Cuba has done much worse to its internal critics, and Nicaragua isn’t following too far behind Chavez now.
How about hemispheric leader Barack Obama? Our President intervened when Honduras took action against Manuel Zelaya’s attempted power grab by … siding with Zelaya, and with Chavez, the Castro Brothers, and Ortega. But if the case of Zuloaga doesn’t generate some outrage from the White House, how about the case ofOswaldo Alvarez Paz, the opposition leader jailed under the same statute?”
What say you Mr. Obama???
