Health care politics "ugliness"

by Rossputin | 2:15 pm, February 10, 2011

Over at the Huffington Post, Colorado’s own liberal media gadly, Jason Salzman, offered some thoughts about health care politics in response to hearing State Senator Greg Brophy on my radio show, Backbone Radio.

My response to Salzman follows:

Jason,

In response to your question “Does Brophy think his steely votes, against the touchiest and feeliest stuff, should be off the table come election time?”, I’d suggest this:

I don’t think Brophy’s votes would be a political liability where he currently runs for office.  If he runs for state-wide office later, I’m sure these things will be brought up (including by you), and it’s possible they could hurt him depending on the spin.  That said, Brophy’s position as I see it is much more about supporting limited government and personal responsibility rather than trying to impose socially conservative policies on us – even though Greg is certainly a social issues conservative.  Again, this is just my view.  I haven’t asked Greg what he thought of your note or question.

More importantly, I think you’re missing the key policy issue here. 

The maternity coverage mandate is outrageous.  People can negotiate for maternity inclusion if they want it.  Including it for people who don’t want it (like me) simply forces up insurance costs for everyone.  And since childbirth is a fairly expensive process – and can be very expensive if something bad happens – this is one of the most expensive mandates a state could impose.  You write about repealing the mandate as if the repeal would block the ability of people to get health insurance that covers maternity, which is obviously not true. 

Wanting to repeal the mandate is not “ugly” or “heartless” or against women “especially poor ones.”  It’s about wanting government out of what should be private transactions.  It is also about saying that it is not a proper role of government to force people who will not have children to pay the costs for those who decide to have children.  Indeed, the childless already do enough for those with kids through their property taxes paying for public education and through federal deductions for having kids.

Also, it’s pretty outrageous for you to say that Brophy thinks health care politics are “ugly…because of the compassion people feel…”  Health care politics are ugly because the left will do and say anything to eliminate freedom of contract in this area, in part because they believe it helps unions.  Compassion should not be, indeed cannot be, expressed by government.  It’s a personal feeling to be expressed by individuals through charity or other ways in which people can help – if they want to.  Government “compassion” for poor people tends to keep them poor.  Government “compassion” for black people did more to destroy black society in American than any other policy since Reconstruction.

If you want to talk about compassion, perhaps measured by charitable giving, it’s not surprising to me that “red” states are consistently more charitable/compassionate than blue states.  Liberals, or at least their policies, are not truly compassionate.  They’re just making themselves feel good by spending other people’s money.

In my view, even though I’m not a social issues conservative, I find Greg Brophy to be one of the most principled people I know and I’m proud to consider him a friend.  And for the record, he does have slightly libertarian leanings…again, in my opinion.

Best,
Ross

CPAC LIVE

by Mr. Bob | 1:39 pm, February 10, 2011

#tcot #cpacStreaming Video by Ustream.TVTweet

Presidents’ Day Meetup Featuring “Honest Abe!”

by redrocks | 12:01 pm, February 10, 2011

Welcome Mr. President!  A special Liberty Presentation for President’s Day…

President Lincoln – Up On The Roof!

“A Fireside Chat with Honest Abe”

Liberty On The Rocks (Red Rocks) Happy Hour

February 21, 2011

A special day, a special presentation, and the sesquicentennial of President Lincoln’s Civil War Presidency. Lincoln historian and presenter, John Voehl, will perform for us for [...]

President Obama vs. Judge Vinson

by Brian Schwartz | 6:30 am, February 10, 2011

A great cartoon by Steve Kelley. Obama to Judge Vinson: “I can’t believe you ruled against my health reform program. Judge Vinson replies: “I can’t believe you taught Constitutional Law.”

LPR’s Annual Retreat: Chock Full of Liberty All-Stars

by Jon Caldara | 3:21 pm, February 9, 2011

There are many reasons to attend the Leadership Program of the Rockies retreat.
I go mostly in hopes of scoring free drinks. However, productive people go because it is the must-attend networking event of the year for conservatives. Political junkies go to learn what’s going on in the wildly changing political front. Politicians go because not [...]

Breaking: Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) will not seek second term

by Rossputin | 12:42 pm, February 9, 2011

Virginia Senator Jim Webb, the Democrat who beat George Allen four years ago following the “macaca” incident, has announced that he will not seek re-election.

Webb, like pretty much every “moderate” Democrat campaigned in the center and then became a pawn of Barack Obama and his chamber’s leadership.

It must have become clear to him that his support of all-things-Obama would make a successful re-election campaign extremely difficult especially, as Phil Klein points out, with Virginia being the “epicenter for opposition to ObamaCare, having been the first state to pass a Health Care Freedom Act, and then launch one of the suits challenging the law’s constitutionality.”

Although Webb’s race would indeed have been difficult, it wouldn’t have been impossible.  It will be even more difficult for any other Democrat to win that seat against the popular Allen who announced two weeks ago that he will again seek that seat.

Phil Klein suggests that current Chairman of the Democratic Party and former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine would be the Dems’ leading candidate although Kaine has already said that he would not seek the seat even if Webb retired.  I expect Kaine to maintain that position, in part because he really does seem to like his current job and in part because despite the results of the left-leaning PPP’s early poll, Kaine has to believe that if the political winds are blowing anything like their current speed and direction, he’d be an underdog to Allen.  After all, every ad will be rightfully tying Kaine to Obama.  In addition to noting that PPP uses a registered voter model, or something very close to it, rather than a likely voter model, their results are likely to overstate a Democrat’s chances.

It’s looking every more likely that we will once again be saying “Senator George Allen”, though if there’s anything Allen himself has shown us it’s that a front-runner can find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Harvey Promotes Social Crusades, Not Tea Party Values

by Ari Armstrong | 12:26 pm, February 9, 2011

Dick Wadhams has dropped out of the race for Republican Chair, leaving State Senator Ted Harvey to fight it out with attorney Ryan Call (and perhaps others). Some have misleadingly attributed the shift to the Tea Parties.

Nobody can claim authority to speak for the Tea Parties as a whole, particularly with respect to Wadham’s performance. The Tea Parties are a large, diverse, and disorganized group, and many Tea Partiers aren’t even Republicans, much less party activists with a stake in the race for chair. (While I have attended numerous Tea Party events, for instance, I am registered unaffiliated.)

Moreover, Harvey hardly epitomizes Tea Party values of limited government and fiscal restraint, having instead earned his reputation as a big-government social crusader. While I do not deny that many self-proclaimed Tea Partiers embrace big-government social conservatism, the ideals of economic liberty and constitutionally limited government are closer to the heart of the Tea Party movement.

For those reasons, the movement to promote Harvey over Wadhams can hardly be said to be about the Tea Parties. I’m sure that many self-proclaimed Tea Partiers support Harvey and at the same time dislike Wadhams, but I’m equally sure that many Tea Partiers dislike both men equally or even favor the latter.

Contrary to deceptive claims by leftist “journalists,” Wadhams did not “slam” the Tea Party in his statement about dropping out.

Instead, Wadhams said,

I have tired of those who are obsessed with seeing conspiracies around every corner and who have terribly misguided notions of what the role of the state party is while saying “uniting conservatives” is all that is needed to win competitive races across the state.

I have no delusions this will recede after the state central committee meeting in March. Meanwhile, the ability of Colorado Republicans to win and retain the votes of hundreds of thousands of unaffiliated swing voters in 2012 will be severely undermined.

Wadhams told Lynn Bartels: “I have loved being chairman, but I’m tired of the nuts who have no grasp of what the state party’s role is.”

Note that Wadhams apparently is referring also to supporters of Dan Maes, whom many Tea Partiers initially supported but later abandoned in droves.

Meanwhile, it’s not as though Wadhams is some tax-and-spend leftist; Vincent Carroll reminds us that he has spent his career working to elect (relative) fiscal conservatives.

What about Harvey? As Bartels summarizes, he “has made abortion and immigration issues the cornerstones of his career.”

Let’s look briefly at what motivates Harvey. In 2004, Harvey sponsored legislation trying to dictate how bookstores display “explicit materials.” Harvey is also quite interested in restricting the rights of Coloradans to hire the employees of their choice, if they happen to be from out of the country.

The cause that seems to most animate Harvey is outlawing abortion. “Ted firmly believes that it is his duty as a legislator to defend the innocent unborn,” i.e., to outlaw abortion. Harvey also touts on his web page, “Ted received the Legislator of the Year award from Colorado Right to Life in 2003.” This is an organization that wants to totally ban abortion and ban all drugs and procedures that might prevent the implantation of a fertilized egg, including the birth control pill. In announcing his candidacy for state senate, Harvey said, “Until my last breath, I will always champion life from conception to natural death” — though his anti-abortion stance undermines the lives and liberties of women.

True, Harvey is relatively pro-liberty on issues like guns, taxes, and select economic controls. Yet I fear that Harvey will animate the religious right of his party and alienate unaffiliated voters and Republican secularists. A “Harvey Party” may well entrench the losing strategy of Ken Buck of leading with anti-liberty social controls. Nothing could be more disastrous for the Republican Party in this Interior West state where people tend to want government out of our wallets as well as our bedrooms.

Making Progress in K-12 Financial Transparency, But Still a Long Way to Go

by Eddie | 11:13 am, February 9, 2011

A few weeks ago I pointed out to you the weak effort of Kansas’ largest school district (Wichita) to implement online financial transparency — an effort I learned about through the great work and analysis of Matthew Tabor of Education Debate at Online Schools. Afterward, I received a phone call telling me about KansasOpenGov.org, a [...]

Dems Push Useless "Pay as You Go" Bill in Colorado

by PerlStalker | 8:27 am, February 9, 2011

Colorado Democrats are proposing a version of “pay as you go” for the Colorado Assembly. The bill, according to Rep. Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, would “ensure the state never spends more money than it has.”

That’s great and all but Colorado already has …

Movie tax: Republicans should know better

by Rossputin | 8:20 am, February 9, 2011

Two Colorado Republican legislators, State Senator Nancy Spence and State Representative Tom Massey, are sponsoring HB 11-1207, which would impose a 10-cent per ticket tax fee on movie tickets in Colorado, with the money to be used to incentivize/bribe movie production companies to make films in the state.

The details of the incentives/bribes were laid out in a bill in last year’s legislative session, HB 10-1180, which Massey and Spence also sponsored, essentially a gift from Coloradoans to cover 10% of the film’s spending in Colorado, including up to $3 million for any one employee or contractor, as long as at least 25% of the film production’s work force used in Colorado is made up of Colorado residents.

It doesn’t matter that the movie business is “cool,” or that other states are getting more movies made on their soil by offering various incentives/bribes ranging from “transferable tax credits,” to rebates that sound like the latest Groupon (make a movie, pay no sales or hotel tax!), to New Mexico even offering “a 0% loan, with backend participation in lieu of interest.” It matters that this is the worst sort of corporate welfare and exactly the sort of thing Republicans should oppose tooth and nail.

Please read the rest of my article at the web site of the American Spectator:
http://spectator.org/archives/2011/02/09/losing-it-at-subsidizing-movie

…and Ryan Call Enters

by Joshua Sharf | 11:49 pm, February 8, 2011

As Dick Wadhams bows out – hopefully to pursue managing a winning Senate or even Presidential campaign – outgoing Denver County Chairman Ryan Call enters the race.  Ryan will be touting Denver’s success in the last elections, its return to relevance after a brief hiatus, and experience gained from being the legal counsel for the [...]

Green Regulations Pushing Energy Bills Higher in Colorado

by PerlStalker | 11:44 pm, February 8, 2011

Enjoying those higher Xcel bills? This is only the beginning and you have your government to thank for it. Thanks, in part, to a Constitutional amendment and 50 state laws mandating energy production, energy rates are going through the roof.

The high…

Holbert Proposes Bill to Make CCW Option in Colorado

by PerlStalker | 11:06 pm, February 8, 2011

Well, isn’t this interesting.

Written in partnership with pro-gun group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, House Bill 1205 is being sponsored by freshman Rep. Chris Holbert, R-Parker. It would make it optional to carry a concealed-carry permit.

Concealed…

House fails to extend Patriot Act provisions

by Rossputin | 9:32 pm, February 8, 2011

In a surprise outcome sure to annoy John Boenher – and to remind him that many freshman Republicans don’t feel a great to bend to the will of the party and its leadership – the House of Representatives failed, by 8 votes, to pass H.R. 514, an extension of three somewhat controversial provisions of the Patriot Act which nevertheless was expected to pass easily.

The measure was brought up through a special procedure that doesn’t allow amendments but requires a 2/3 majority of the House to pass.  However, 26 Republicans including 8 freshman voted with 122 Democrats to defeat the reauthorization.

Specifically, the measure would have extended for 9 months parts of the Patriot Act which allow:

• Certain “roving” wiretaps where the FBI gets court permission for the tap without telling the court who will be tapped or which of that person’s communications will be monitored,
• Government access to any “tangible” information in an investigation, such as library, educational, or medical records as part of a spying or terrorism investigation, and
• Surveillance of suspected “lone wolf” terrorists who are not known to be part of any organized terrorist group.

It’s roughly once every few years that I agree with Dennis Kucinich, and I’m sure my more conservative readers won’t share my sentiment, but Kucinich has a real point when he says “Look at the ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ flag. It doesn’t say don’t tread on me, but it’s okay if you spy.”

While, as Justice Jackson said, the Constitution is not a suicide pact, conservatives must stop thinking of civil liberties as little more than weaknesses to be exploited by enemies – though they surely can be that.  It’s a difficult balance, recognizing the asymmetry in our war with (radical) Islam’s terrorist adherents and understanding that, quoting Benjamin Franklin, “those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

It is a balance which many believe was not adequately explored or debated during the understandable rush to pass the Patriot Act following the horrific events of September 11, 2001.

The House will bring the measure up again soon since the provisions expire at the end of this month unless extended.  Although the second vote will only require a simple majority, it will open the measure up to amendments which will range from extending the provisions for longer to including restraints on government’s ability to pry into private information, especially of citizens.

While some extension will certainly pass, I for one am glad the vote failed on Tuesday, both because it gives time for further discussion of the serious civil liberties consequences of these laws and because it shows Republican leadership that some significant minority of their own party really do see themselves in DC to reform government and act on behalf of their constituents rather than toe the party line.

The 26 Republicans who voted against extending the Patriot Act provisions – and whom I applaud, but I imagine many conservatives are displeased with – are:

Justin Amash, MI
Roscoe Bartlett, MD
Robert Bishop, UT
Paul Broun, GA
John Campbell, CA
John  Duncan, TN
Michael Fitzpatrick, PA
Christopher Gibson, NY
Tom Graves, GA
Dean Heller, NV
Randy Hultgren, IL
Timothy Johnson, IL
Walter Jones, NC
Jack Kingston, GA
Raul Labrador, ID
Connie Mack, FL
Kenny Marchant, TX
Tom McClintock, CA
Ron Paul, TX
Denny Rehberg, MT
David Roe, TN
Dana Rohrabacher, CA
Bobby Schilling, IL
David Schweikert, AZ
Rob Woodall, GA
Donny Young, AK

Wadhams resigns, takes parting shots

by Mr. Bob | 4:38 pm, February 8, 2011

“I have tired of those who are obsessed with seeing conspiracies around every corner and who have terribly misguided notions of what the role of the state party is while saying “uniting conservatives” is all that is needed to win competitive races …

One D.C. Voucher Mom’s Story Should Help Shame Congress Back into Action

by Eddie | 12:19 pm, February 8, 2011

Anybody who reads this blog knows I have a big soft spot for the kids in the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program — you know, the one axed by the Obama administration. Just type “D.C. voucher” or “D.C. school choice” in the search box on the right sidebar to see what I mean.
So it’s no [...]

Obama’s Chamber of Commerce speech proves he’s "the same guy"

by Rossputin | 8:19 am, February 8, 2011

President Barack Obama’s speech to the Chamber of Commerce (video & transcript) on Monday morning offered the latest example of a man who wants to appear to be moderating while remaining “same guy” he’s been for two years (or for his whole adult life), to support business while refusing to back away from Obamacare, the most job killing legislation in generations, and to want to cut government spending while offering reductions in discretionary spending that over the course of a decade save barely a quarter of this year’s federal budget deficit.

It was a speech full of the internal contradictions necessary from a man whose mindset has always been anti-capitalist and anti-compromise, and who is trying to reconcile those traits with the “shellacking” his party took in November.

Please read the rest of my article at the web site of the American Spectator:
http://spectator.org/archives/2011/02/08/chamber-music-in-the-key-of-bi

Ken Buck Pushes for Grassroots Support for Balanced Budget Amendment

by PerlStalker | 7:30 am, February 8, 2011

Ken Buck, former candidate for Senator from Colorado, announced that he’s starting a new non-profit organization called Balance America. The group’s mission will be to grow grassroots support for a balanced budget amendment.

Balance America is tackli…

Colorado Senate Bill 11-019 lifts insurance restrictions on small employers

by Brian Schwartz | 6:30 am, February 8, 2011

Colorado Senate Bill 19 would lift restrictions on small business that forbid them from using “Health Reimbursement Accounts” for buying medical insurance with pre-tax dollars.

Paul Proposes Large Cuts; Obama, Not So Much

by PerlStalker | 9:57 pm, February 7, 2011

Ed Morrissey points to a poll in The Hill that shows that 62 percent of likely voters oppose raising the nation’s debt limit. That’s great news for Republicans who have been calling for cuts rather than raise the limit.

Senator Rand Paul has fired th…

Wadhams Bows Out

by Joshua Sharf | 7:56 pm, February 7, 2011

Dick Wadhams has withdrawn from the race for Colorado GOP Chairman, sending the following email to members of the State Central Committee: It has been an honor and privilege to serve as Colorado Republican Chairman but after much reflection I have decided to not seek reelection. I am very grateful to a clear majority of [...]

Wadhams drops out

by completecolorado | 6:46 pm, February 7, 2011

Below is the full letter sent to the Colorado Republican Central Committee
Monday, February 7, 2011
To:  Colorado Republican State Central Committee
From:  Dick Wadhams, State Chairman
It has been an honor and privilege to serve as Colorado Republican Chairman but after much reflection I have decided to not seek reelection.
I am very grateful to a clear majority of [...]

2/3 Pt 1 – Rare Exclusive with Carlotta Walls LaNier, youngest of the Little Rock Nine

by Jimmy Sengenberger | 5:00 pm, February 7, 2011

In Part One of the 2/3 edition of Seng Center, Regis University host Jimmy Sengenberger is joined by Carlotta Walls LaNier, the youngest of the Little Rock Nine and author of the book A Mighty Long Way, for a college radio exclusive.  In the most…

Pfiffner: Focus on the Outcomes, Not the Inputs

by Jon Caldara | 2:50 pm, February 7, 2011

Citizens’ Budget project director Penn Pfiffner has been making the rounds while spreading the word about the important ideas found in our Citizens’ Budget project. He’s been on a number of radio shows so far, with the latest appearance coming on Colorado Public Radio’s “Colorado Matters.” Penn was on the other day to discuss solutions [...]

Let Title I Money Follow the Child and Other Creative School Choice Ideas

by Eddie | 11:44 am, February 7, 2011

You think school choice just means a state voucher program or public charter schools? Think again. We are living in an age of all kinds of creative school choice ideas. First you have our own Douglas County School District, which is moving forward to create a local voucher program — among several other school choice [...]

No good news on Unemployment

by Al Maurer | 9:38 am, February 7, 2011

Job growth just isn’t happening.

Aetna leaves Colorado’s individual insurance market

by Brian Schwartz | 6:30 am, February 7, 2011

Aetna has stopped selling individual health insurance policies in Colorado. The Wall Street Journal interviews an analyst who suggests the ObamaCare’s medical-loss ratio rules “likely triggered Aetna’s decision to quit Colorado.”

Paul Ryan’s first swing of the budget axe

by Rossputin | 5:49 am, February 7, 2011

Some of you have seen a version of this article on these pages last week.  The article has been slightly modified for publication at the American Spectator web site.  Please give it a read if you haven’t already!

Operating under new Republican rules that give him unilateral authority to set the maximum discretionary spending levels for the federal government for the rest of this fiscal year (though not how the money will be spent), House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) last Thursday proposed total discretionary federal spending for this fiscal year of $1.055 trillion. (Those rules were made possible by the Democrats’ failure to pass a budget in the last Congress.)

As a senior staffer for the congressman put it, Ryan’s spending limit allocation “is like an allowance that will guide the appropriations process for the current fiscal year. The federal government has been misbehaving as of late, so Paul cut their allowance.”

Please see the rest of my article at the web page of the American Spectator:
http://spectator.org/archives/2011/02/07/ryans-opening-pitch

2/3 Pt 2 – Obamacare lawsuit monologue and conversation with Neil, a Northern Irish exchange student

by Jimmy Sengenberger | 5:00 pm, February 6, 2011

In Part Two of the 2/3 “Little Rock Nine” edition of Seng Center, Regis University host Jimmy Sengenberger begins by sharing some final thoughts on his interview with Carlotta Walls LaNier of the Little Rock Nine. Then, the Regis student discusses the …

TSA Opts-Out

by Joshua Sharf | 3:59 pm, February 6, 2011

I’ve written before about the TSA opt-out program, where airports can have their security provided by private security firms as opposed to TSA government unions.  While the private contractors would still have to adhere to all the TSA procedures – this isn’t a way out of the groping, sadly – they would still be able [...]

« go back — keep looking »

Featured Posts

• Judge Rules Americans Can Be Forced to Testify Against Themselves

  In order to protect our rights, our security must be protected. In order to protect our security, our rights must be invaded. Nothing wrong with that, is there?

• World Economic Forum in Switzerland: Global Elites Celebrating Hypocrisy
• SCOTUS decision on warrantless GPS surveillance produces an expected friend of privacy
• You didn’t want your Fifth Amendment rights, anyway, did you?
• Keynesian Economists Finally Catch Up and Agree: China to Have Hard Landing
• The Beauty of Private Property—from China?
• Regime Uncertainty, Regulatory Surge, and Unemployment Numbers