Left Tries To Counter Right's Grassroots Passion on Health Care Reform #Healthcare #tlot

The Washington Post reports in Health-Care Reform, One Stop at a Time that the left is attempting to mobilize grass roots for health care in a similar way the right has done in opposing current versions of health care reform. The difficulty is that the numbers show that people are genuinely opposed to the current reforms particularly the 'government option'. So a bus tour has been launched by a liberal group to try to counter those who have been vocal in opposing government run health care.

Organizing for America, a nationwide group of Obama supporters run by the Democratic National Committee, also brought along a colorful bus featuring the slogan, "Health Insurance Reform Now: Let's Get it Done." The vehicle is on an 11-city tour advocating for health-care reform.

"We think that change happens with neighbors talking to neighbors, and these rallies reflect that," said DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan. "That's how we won the campaign in the fall, with grass-roots organizing, and that's what we will see in these events going forward."

But the effort also underscores the unexpected difficulties faced by Obama and his allies in trying to push a health reform plan through Congress in the face of concerted Republican opposition and growing voter unease. Conservative activists have dominated the public debate in recent weeks with dire warnings and noisy disruptions at town hall meetings, while national polls show declining support for Obama's ambitious plan to widen health insurance coverage.

The DNC kickoff rally in Phoenix attracted about 1,200 reform supporters, but a raucous meeting on the other side of town hosted by Obama's former presidential campaign rival Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) attracted hundreds more -- most of whom were loudly opposed to Democratic reform proposals.
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"The grass-roots anger over the spending and the size of the health-care grab by Obama is real, and all these staged rallies are not going to change that," said Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks, a conservative Washington-based group that is rallying opposition to Obama's reform plans. "I think it's an acknowledgment that they're in trouble."

Katie Wright, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said that "no amount of rallies can hide the fact that the Democrats' government-run plan will raise costs, increase the deficit and put bureaucrats in charge of making personal health-care decisions."

A 100% failure rate!

Think about this . . .

The U.S. Post Service was established in 1775 - they've had 234 years to get it right; it is broke, and even though heavily subsidized, it can't compete with private sector FedEx and UPS services.

Social Security was established in 1935 - they've had 74 years to get it right; it is broke.

Fannie Mae was established in 1938 - they've had 71 years to get it right; it is broke. Freddie Mac was established in 1970 - they've had 39 years to get it right; it is broke. Together Fannie and Freddie have now led the entire world into the worst economic collapse in 80 years.

The War on Poverty was started in 1964 - they've had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our hard earned money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the poor"; it hasn't worked.

Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965 - they've had 44 years to get it right; they are both broke; and now our government dares to mention them as models for all US health care.

AMTRAK was established in 1970 - they've had 39 years to get it right; last year they bailed it out as it continues to run at a loss!

This year, a trillion dollars was committed in the massive political payoff called the Stimulus Bill of 2009; it shows NO sign of working; it's been used to increase the size of governments across America, and raise government salaries while the rest of us suffer from economic hardships. It has yet to create a single new private sector job. Our national debt projections (approaching $10 trillion) have increased 400% in the last six months.

"Cash for Clunkers" was established in 2009 and went broke in 2009 - - after 80% of the cars purchased turned out to be produced by foreign companies, and dealers nationwide are buried under bureaucratic paperwork demanded by a government that is not yet paying them what was promised.

So with a perfect 100% failure rate and a record that proves that each and every "service" shoved down our throats by an over-reaching government turns into disaster, how could any informed American trust our government to run or even set policies for America's health care system - - 17% of our economy?

Maybe each of us has a personal responsibility to let others in on this brilliant record before 2010, and then help remove from office those who are voting to destroy capitalism and destroy our grandchildren's future.
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• I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. -- Thomas Jefferson
• "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin, 1759

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ARRA News Service

'God-like' Perspective of Washington Limits Freedom

In the Thomas Sowell article A New Push to Play God from Washington, Sowell discusses how the administration is taking a 'God-like' tact that is unlike anything seen in politics in years. An interesting take on how freedom is being limited because those in Washington have decided they know what is best for the American people, even when the American people don't agree.

The serious, and sometimes chilling, provisions of the medical care legislation that President Obama has been trying to rush through Congress are important enough for all of us to stop and think, even though his political strategy from the outset has been to prevent us from having time to stop and think about it.

What we also should stop to think about is the mindset behind this legislation, which is very consistent with the mindset behind other policies of this administration, whether the particular issue is bailing out General Motors, telling banks who to lend to or appointing "czars" to tell all sorts of people in many walks of life what they can and cannot do.

The idea that government officials can play God from Washington is not a new idea, but it is an idea that is being pushed with new audacity.

What they are trying to do is to create an America very unlike the America that has existed for centuries-- the America that people have been attracted to by the millions from every part of the world, the America that many generations of Americans have fought and died for.

Polling Bad News for Sen. Blanche Lincoln (Arkansas)

by Bill Smith (Ozark Guru): When polling numbers shows a senior senator in difficulty against potential candidates over a year out from the election, the news is bad news for that senator. And that is what is being projected for Arkansas' U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln who is up for election in 2010 and has been feverishly raising funds and avoiding the public at town halls and TEA Parties in Arkansas. Public Policy Polling latest polling data released August 26th shows that Obama campaigning for Sen. Lincoln in in Arkansas would sink her race. While Barack Obama's National approval rating of 52%, in Arkansas, Obama has only a 40% approval rating. And that is expected to continue to fall in Arkansas. In fact, the polling numbers showed that a majority of voters in Arkansas think Rush Limbaugh has a superior vision for the country than Barack Obama.

Blanche Lincoln's approval rating has dropped 9% since March.  Currently, Lincoln has 36% approval rating and a 44% disapproving rating of the job she’s doing. Currently, with no candidates formally filed for office against her, she's in a statistical tie against three potential Republican opponents. And there are as many as eight candidates considering running against her.

Gilbert Baker leads her 42-40, Curtis Coleman has a 41-40 advantage, and Tom Cotton trails Lincoln slightly 40-39. The numbers of course are more a reflection on Lincoln's unfavorable standing than that of the Republicans at this time.

“You couldn’t get a clearer indication that the national momentum is with Republicans right now than a poll showing some guys with single digit name recognition running even with an incumbent Senator,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “This is going to be a very closely contested race if the eventual Republican nominee does a good job of raising money.

Other indicators of running against Lincoln is that 53% of the people polled were women. In addition, 48% of those polled identified themselves as conservative, and 39% as moderate, leaving 12% of her liberal friends. At the beginning of 2009, voters returned Senator Pryor to a new six term without opposition; however, , his approval rating, although higher than Lincoln, is now only 47% with a disapproval rating of 32%. The voters disappointment with a previously considered "more conservative" Sen. Pryor may weigh heavily on voters in 2010 when considering returning a more liberal Senator Blanche Lincoln .

There is a growing "vote the bums" out feeling among the voters in Arkansas. Also, in Arkansas, continued open endorsement and support of Senator Lincoln by incumbent State constitutional officers (Governor, Lt. Governor, etc.) may place them at risk in 2010 if viable conservative candidates step forward to oppose them.

As summarized by Tom Jensen, Public Policy Polling, "Clearly Lincoln could be beaten, but there are several reasons why she might survive too. The first is that none of her potential Republican opponents have shown the ability yet to raise the money to run a strong campaign. Whoever emerges as her opponent is also going to need to be able to keep their foot out of their mouth, something that's been a problem for some potential foes. The second is that Democrats nationally are in a recession right now and that goes a long way toward explaining these numbers.. . . Republicans have an opportunity here but it remains to be seen whether they can take advantage of it."

Deficit Up

From Expo Business New deficit projections pose risks to Obama's agenda

The White House budget office and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a non-partisan arm of Congress, release updated economic forecasts and deficit estimates on Tuesday, providing further fiscal fodder to opponents of Obama's nearly $1 trillion healthcare overhaul plan.


Many of the figures are already known.


The White House has confirmed that its deficit estimate for the 2009 fiscal year, which ends September 30, will inch down to $1.58 trillion from $1.84 trillion after eliminating billions of dollars originally set aside for bank rescues.


Looking forward, an administration official told Reuters the 10-year budget deficit projection will jump by about $2 trillion to roughly $9 trillion from an original forecast of $7.1

Exploding Federal Deficit

As previously reported the Federal Deficit is Soaring with estimates for this year being between $1.6 trillion or $1.8 trillion. Now the projected deficit for the next 10 years is up $2 trillion. There are so many disturbing elements to this ever expanding deficit, not least of which is how the U.S. economy will recover with this level government debt. As the deficit shoots upwards so does the risk of inflation, making recovery increasingly more difficult. Not to mention that China owns so much of our debt that at this point they're practically a part owner of this country. The government seriously needs to reexamine its priorities and reign in its spending or this country will find itself in a world of hurt.

Major Garrett reports New 10-year Federal Deficit: $9 Trillion, Up from $7 Trillion

The Obama Office of Management and Budget tells Fox the federal deficit over the next decade is projected to be $2 trillion higher than previous estimates.
The new 10-year aggregate federal deficit is $9 trillion.

An official said the prolonged recession and the ensuing decline in federal revenue prompted a recalibration of the deficit numbers.

The numbers also reflect a projection that post-recession economic growth may not be as robust as after previous recessions, the official said.

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An Unsustainable Federal Deficit

Whole Foods CEO Protested For Health Care Article

Whole Foods is facing a boycott because its CEO John Mackey wrote an Op-ed in the Wall Street Journal opposing government run health care. Mackey's thoughtful article gave eight ideas for health care reform, and is not anywhere near what most rationale people consider provocative or radical. On the contrary, he is one of few public figures to put together a clear, concise, well-reasoned approach to health care reform. For his trouble he's being boycotted by those on the far left who can not accept that not everyone shares their point of view. The WSJ article is definitely worth a read for anyone interested in health care reform...

The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare - Eight things we can do to improve health care without adding to the deficit.

The following excerpt Food Fight Over Health Care, from a transcript of On the Record with Greta Vansusteren, also illustrates that Mackey is good person who does right by his employees, and is absurdly being targeted for vocalizing his opinion on health care reform. Hopefully those who see the injustice in this will counter the boycott by stopping by a Whole Foods store and picking up some groceries.

BRIAN SULLIVAN, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK: The irony of this story, Greta, is that if John Mackey, who is the CEO of Whole Food who has been running the company, started the company in Austin Texas about 30 years ago, if he had positioned what he positioned in "The Journal" when we were not considering health care, this would have been considered radical reform. He said here are eight ideas as a successful CEO that I have, including tort reform, allowing insurers cross state lines, self-directed ideas. And yet he is vilified by some of the more liberal followers out there of the president's plan. They are, as you said, waging war against Whole Foods, 18,000 on Facebook in a boycott. There is Web page set up. And they are calling him, get this, Greta, a right-wing zealot. VAN SUSTEREN: This CEO of Whole Foods, in 2007, he said he had enough money to live comfortably, so in 2007 he cut his salary down to $1 a year, and he donated all of the proceeds from his stock option to charity. This does not sound like a guy who wants to stick it to the poor when it comes to health care. He had a different idea, and that was what was in the "Wall Street Journal." SULLIVAN: He is a self-described libertarian. And I do not know if that was angered some people. Not only was he taking $1, but he pushed this through, Greta, a $100,000 need-based fund for Whole Foods workers. They offer domestic partners same sex benefits at Whole Foods. Heretofore this has been considered a relatively progressive company. Now he comes out and says the government-run plan is not the way to go. And he is absolutely being slaughtered on the left side of the blogosphere.

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A Misguided Boycott Of Whole Foods

Frank Guinta Mayor of Manchester NH Eyes Congressional Run

CQ Politics notes that Frank Guinta is likely to run against Carol Shea Porter for the first Congressional seat of New Hampshire.


New Hampshire: Guinta Files to Run in Shea-Porter's Congressional District

Republican Frank Guinta, mayor of Manchester, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run in New Hampshire's 1st District.

Guinta recently announced he would not seek re-election as mayor and was mulling a run for federal office in 2010. But Guinta has not publicly announced whether he will run for the open Senate seat or for the 1st Congressional District seat.

Guinta's advisor, Mike Biundo, stressed Friday that the mayor has yet to make an official announcement, adding that one is expected in the coming week.

As mayor of the state's largest city, Guinta's name has often been at the top of Republicans' lists of prospective candidates for higher office.

"Frank Guinta's proven record of protecting taxpayer dollars provides a clear contrast to the reckless Washington spending that has been rubber-stamped by Carol Shea-Porter at the expense of New Hampshire families," Paul Lindsay, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement Friday. "While this has been a traditionally challenging state for Republicans in recent elections, an established community leader like Guinta has the ability to bridge party lines and once again give New Hampshire the representation it deserves."

Tim Pawlenty A Serious Conservative Voice on Health Care

Politico reports the Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty is making an impact on the health care debate as a insightful voice for conservatives in their article Tim Pawlenty: Voters 'ticked off and scared'

In an interview with POLITICO, Pawlenty offered tough criticism of President Barack Obama’s attempted health care overhaul and spoke in detail about potential GOP alternatives but stopped short of using the kind of overheated rhetoric that has marked the August debate .

“People are ticked off and scared. You have a situation where a good chunk of the country is waking up to the fact that Obama is proposing things that are out of step with common sense, out of step with the notion that the government isn’t going to run everything,” said Pawlenty, who delivered a health care-oriented speech Friday at the second-annual GOPAC conference in Chicago, a meeting of conservative state legislators and national party leaders.

Pawlenty said he has three major objections to Democratic plans: the public option, possible tax increases on small and medium-sized businesses and the “massive spending disaster” that would result if health care were added to a federal budget.

The Minnesota governor also supports the right to pool insurance risk across state lines, opening up private insurance markets to allow consumers to buy a policy from nearly anywhere, creating an electronic billing and prescription system, the prohibition of coverage denials based on pre-existing conditions, portability guarantees and incentivizing hospitals and patients to reduce the cost of individual visits.

His approach doesn’t always land him in the headlines, but it’s winning him notice as a serious voice in the debate without damaging his Minnesota Nice brand.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26271.html#ixzz0OjXOjuao

NBC Poll Show Support for Public Option Dropping

While support for a federal run public option has never been particularly strong, a recent NBC polls shows that it is becoming even more unpopular. The poll also found that there isn't support for a full overhaul of the health care system either.

As the debate over health-care reform heats up, fewer Americans say they are in favor of a complete overhaul of the American system, according to a new NBC poll.

Only 21 percent of those surveyed said they believe health care needs a complete overhaul, down from 33 percent in April. An increased number said they’re in favor either a major overhaul (30 percent) or minor reform (31 percent).

Meanwhile, 47 percent said they oppose a public health-care option, up three percentage points since July, while 43 percent favor it, a decrease of three points.

Health-Care Overhaul Loses Support Among Public: Poll

Obama - Health Care to be Run Like Post Office

Americans are expressing serious reservations about the direction of health care reform. The President did little to assuage those fears when he compared the controversial 'public option' to the Post Office. Concerns about the administration's handling of economic matters continues to grow, and citing the USPS as model government program when it is facing serious financial trouble fuels concern that the administration's math is not adding up.

Obama Goes Postal, Lands in Dead-Letter Office by Caroline Baum of Bloomberg.

Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- “UPS and FedEx are doing just fine. It’s the Post Office that’s always having problems.” -- Barack Obama, Aug. 11, 2009

No institution has been the butt of more government- inefficiency jokes than the U.S. Postal Service. Maybe the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The only way the post office can stay in business is its government subsidy. The USPS lost $2.4 billion in the quarter ended in June and projects a net loss of $7 billion in fiscal 2009, outstanding debt of more than $10 billion and a cash shortfall of $1 billion. It was moved to intensive care -- the Government Accountability Office’s list of “high risk” cases - - last month and told to shape up. (It must be the only entity that hasn’t cashed in on TARP!)

That didn’t stop President Barack Obama from holding up the post office as an example at a town hall meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, last week.

When Obama compared the post office to UPS and FedEx, he was clearly hoping to assuage voter concerns about a public health-care option undercutting and eliminating private insurance.

What he did instead was conjure up visions of long lines and interminable waits. Why do we need or want a health-care system that works like the post office?

What’s more, if the USPS is struggling to compete with private companies, as Obama implied, why introduce a government health-care option that would operate at the same disadvantage?

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Obama's Health Care/Post Office Comparison

American People Recognize That Stimulus Has Not Worked

A USA Today/Gallop poll shows that 57% of the American people believe the bloated stimulus package has had no effect or made the economy worse. This leaves the administration trying to sell a success that people see as simply a waste. The administration is quickly losing credibility, particularly when it comes math and economics.

From USA Today: Poll: 57% don't see stimulus working

A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll found 57% of adults say the stimulus package is having no impact on the economy or making it worse. Even more —60% — doubt that the stimulus plan will help the economy in the years ahead, and only 18% say it has done anything to help improve their personal situation.

That skepticism underscores the challenge Obama faces in trying to convince the public that the stimulus has helped turn the economy around. It also could complicate the administration's plans to overhaul the nation's health care system.

"This is a wake-up call for the administration." says House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va. "People see the stimulus hasn't worked, and now you want to lay on over $1 trillion in a health care plan."

The administration declined to comment on the poll results.

The stimulus package contains $288 billion for tax cuts and $499 billion in new spending, much of it meant to pay for unemployment and other social services. The $1 billion "cash for clunkers" program was not part of the bill, although its $2 billion expansion comes from stimulus funds.

The government has allocated more than $200 billion in aid. Since the plan began, however, the recession has left an additional 2.2 million Americans without jobs, according to Labor Department surveys.

Around the Mid Atlantic--PA Bombshell Poll

Pennsylvania For all of the intrigue the budget battle holds, the latest numbers have to add a sense of panic to the legislature and governor. The deficit has grown another 700 million dollars since the end of June due to the lack of economic recovery in Pennsylvania. It now tops 3 Billion dollars.

Senator Specter cannot seem to escape Rep. Pat Toomey. While Specter holds a 11 point lead in primary polling with Congressman Joe Sestak, a bombshell poll by Rasmussen shows both Specter (48 to 36) and Sestak (43 to 35) trail Rep. Pat Toomey in early polling. Further undermining Specter's strength is that he trails even more than the lesser known Sestak. Specter can't go to Governor Rendell for much help. The governor's poll numbers are sinking with the state budget. They are now down to 39% approval.


Virginia is looking better all the time for Republicans. Historically when a statewide Republican Candidate since 1993 has had a lead greater than 10 points going into Labor Day, he wins in Virginia. Yet another poll shows that
AG McDonnell may achieve that milestone. We all know that elections can change and Deeds proved that in the primary so only a fool would count him out.

President Obama's slipping poll numbers in the Old Dominion State means that national Democrats won't be of much help. If Deeds is to pull an upset, it would be all on him and the Virginia party. Maybe he can catch Governor Kaine in the state and do some more appearances with him. (The Governor is also Chair of the DNC and has been teased about his frequent travels out of state.)

Maryland has been upset that its citizens are paying their bills and saving rather than risk it on the new slots. Revenue has fallen below expectations. They hope a new Baltimore Location will remedy that problem.

Senator Cardin received the proverbial earful in Haggerstown. It wasn't all shouting though. The senator said he was pleased with the showing. The gym held its limit of 1500 people leaving a 1000 had to stay outside and hold their own discussion.

New York seems to be an Empire of political intrigue if nothing else. Governor Patterson's woman of the week problem this week seems to his former senate staffer Indira F. Noel. She forged a signature of a former staffer to obtain his college transcripts which are protected under law. She plead guilty to disorderly conduct in a deal with prosecutors. She told the ex-worker that she was untouchable because of her relationship with the governor. It appears she was right. Jean Pierre is now suing and threatens to bring the governor into court to say exactly what that relationship is.

New Jersey Chris Christie has been enduring a two prong attack this week on silly charges that he engaged in a legal conversation about his future plans with a fellow government staffer Karl Rove. The law prohibits U. S. Attorneys from engaging in partisan political activities not discussing a hypothetical future activity. None the less the liberal media as jumped on the Corzine accusation and the Corzine campaign is flooding the airwaves with side by side pictures of Christie and "Bush Brain" Rove.

The Governor seems to trying to distract from a real scandal in his administration which cost taxpayers 1.4 million dollars on his watch. In the meantime another NJ Democrat goes to jail for tax evasion.

In Delaware, Governor Jack Markell decided to include Gender Identity in a new executive order giving protections for sexual orientation. The legislature in its wisdom stripped that from the original bill. The governor for the first time wants to give a mental disorder civil rights. The governor also signed into law a package of education reforms including eliminating the hated Delaware State Testing Program.

Dems Whining About Town Hall Anger

George Nethercutt in the Poitico article The Whining Class does a nice job of explaining people's frustration with government's massive growth/spending, along with some politician's whiney reaction to that anger...

As a former member of Congress, I have read with some disappointment the indignant wailing of predominantly Democratic members of the House and Senate as voters, unhappy with the actions of the 111th Congress, have shown up at town hall meetings to express their displeasure with the state of national affairs, particularly the reworking of the nation’s health care system.


It is reminiscent of the 1994 incident in which then-longtime Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.) literally ran down a street to get away from a group of unhappy seniors in his Chicago district who were mad about his and his party’s performance in Congress. That anger led to Rosty’s defeat and a big changeover in the House to Republican control after the 1994 elections.


What the Democrats are missing here is the level of national unrest felt by people of all points of view and party affiliations over the accumulation of massive national debt in only six months of Democratic Party and Obama administration leadership. There is something unsettling to the national psyche, with overnight takeovers of car companies, banking interests and private health care, and an un-stimulating stimulus programs costing hundreds of billions being passed in a flash, all in the name of good government.


Citizens are particularly unhappy that these measures sometimes reach 1,000 pages and are admittedly unread by their elected representatives. Insult is added to injury when President Barack Obama dismisses legitimate grass-roots concerns about his health care plan as “Astroturf.” It’s certainly not helpful for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to call such questioning “un-American.” No wonder the most recent (July 24-27, 2009) NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows Congress’s approval rating at 24 percent, with 63 percent of respondents disapproving. Don’t be surprised to see the approval number drop further this month.

Testing Government Run Health Care

Fiends discuss the importance of "testing" something before you risk it all. This lesson is applied to the health care reform debate in Washington. Check out more videos like this at Not So Sure. [Source]

Falling Poll Numbers Show Obsurdity of Dem's 'Manufactured Anger' Claims

As claims people opposing the administration's health care reform plans are being directed by the GOP and/or insurance companies, numbers are showing those claims to be weak and misguided. It actually appears that the condescending tone and belittling remarks made towards those opposing current health care reform measures is only fanning the flames of the debate. As the Washington Times reports Polls undercut scripted protest claims.

A majority, 57 percent, said health care reform should be abandoned if it will "significantly" add to the deficit. Mr. Obama has promised that any reform will not add to the budget imbalance, but 72 percent of the registered voters surveyed by Quinnipiac said they did not think Mr. Obama would be able to deliver on that vow.

A National Public Radio poll of 850 likely voters in late July showed that 48 percent thought the president's policies have increased the federal deficit and done little to slow job loss, while 45 percent said Mr. Obama has blunted the recession and set a foundation for recovery. The poll also showed 47 percent opposition to the Obama health care reforms in Congress, with 42 percent support.

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll of 1,011 adults on July 30 showed that 42 percent thought the current health care reforms were a bad idea, while 36 percent thought them a good idea. More surprisingly, Republicans in Congress were more trusted to fix the budget deficit by a 31 percent to 25 percent margin, a drastic turnaround from January, when Democrats held the edge by a margin of 42 percent to 20 percent.

But a July 27 poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press showed that 55 percent of 1,506 people surveyed still favored "spending more to make health care more accessible and affordable," compared with the 40 percent who disagreed with that statement. However, that same poll showed 43 percent disapproval of Mr. Obama's handling of the health care debate, 53 percent disapproval on the economy, and said that 44 percent "generally oppose" the health care proposals in Congress, while 38 percent generally favor them and 18 percent said they didn't know.

The White House at first responded to the poll numbers by claiming that Americans were being influenced by "misinformation." At one point in the middle of last week, an anonymous White House official told Politico that "poll numbers now, for health care, are up."

When asked by The Washington Times to verify that latter statement, however, no one in the White House communications office would own up to the quote or defend it.

But as protests erupted a week ago and spilled onto the Internet via YouTube and the Drudge Report, the administration took a new tack. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called the now-visible opposition "manufactured anger."

The Democratic National Committee piled on, calling the protesters "mobs" and even saying they were being "bused in" to events by "by well-funded, highly organized groups run by Republican operatives and funded by the special interests."

Brad Woodhouse, the DNC spokesman who made those accusations, said in an e-mail exchange that the evidence of protesters being bussed in came from "anecdotal reports" along with eyewitness accounts from some at an Aug. 2 forum in Philadelphia. The accounts said people saw buses from North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

On Friday, the White House political arm Organizing for America sent a video to its 13 million or so supporters in which OFA Director Mitch Stewart said that town-hall protesters are "trying to drown out public discourse and legitimate conversation on this issue."

But Mr. Walker, the former comptroller, said the dissatisfaction being expressed was not a minority view but rather a reaction to the government's arrogance, pointing to the polls as quantifiable evidence.

"What's going on is there is increasing concern, which in some cases has turned to outrage, with how far out of touch and out of control Washington has become," Mr. Walker said.

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Poll Numbers Discredit Dem Claims That Health Care Anger is Fake

Around the Mid Atlantic -Governor's races heat up--Patterson turns on the heat

The Region is percolating with intrigue.

NJ-- The Hudson County Democrats are still reeling as some are admitting to the charges brought. If things were not bad enough Essex County Democrats are facing an absentee ballot rigging investigation. Democrat Governor Corzine's response is to accuse Republican U. S. Attorney Christie of ties to corruption. It doesn't matter that everyone who pays attention knows that Christie and his running mate are actually the ones who started the clean up.

Corzine has developed a three fold attack to comeback from his 14 point deficit. Lies, try to claim the property tax mantle, and attack Christie on guns. I predict that by November he will close the gap to 7 points as some undecided Democrats come home. He will lose. Fearing that two Democrats are preparing to replace Gov. Corzine on the ballot. Congressman Palvone is publicly volunteeringm which has to be a perfect GOP ad. (Are you reading this powers that be?) Newark Mayor Booker, who is one of few clean local officials is being mentioned. He said he would like the job, but he supports Corzine. What an endorsement! How serious is this? Democrats are doing polling on it behind the Governor's back. At this stage they cannot replace someone who won the primary unless he steps aside. Unlike scandal-plagued Sen. Robert Torricelli he is self funded. He won't go anywhere. Another Democrat wouldn't win anyway.

Lastly for NJ, the NJESA (teacher's union) put out it's endorsements of 47 Democrats and 24 Republicans (almost all Republicans were in safe districts) in assembly races. It endorsed Governor Corzine. Chris Christie did not even seek the endorsement.

VA- Virginia also has an election this year. As you know from Tuesday's post, AG Bob McDonnell has taken a commanding 14 point lead over Sen. Deeds in the race for governor. Even a poll for Daily Kos confirmed the change. This 10 point jump came after the first televised debate but some Washinton pundits wonder if it relates to the President's falling numbers in VA. Deeds came back from as bad a position to win the primary. His comeback seems to based upon playing in rural turf and touting his farming background. Rural VA is republican turf and Northern VA (NoVA) is better for Democrats. The problem for Deeds, who is from rural VA is that McDonnell grew up in NoVA and launched his political career in Tidewater (SE VA). In the debate on agricultural issues, Deeds focused on his background while McDonnell focused on specific proposals and shared values.

MD- Governor O'Malley's (D) reward for not dealing with spending this year but adding slots and using stimulus money to keep the state afloat is--- a $700 million dollar shortfall in an election year. He is taking suggestions until August 10 so go to that Website and help your governor. Then ask him for part of his salary if you solve the problem.

The Governor just couldn't avoid controversy this week. His light rail program for D. C. and Baltimore has found opposition not only from residents but the University of Maryland. Nonetheless he submitted them to the federal government.

PA- One would think the election for U. S. Senate was this year. Polls are about even now between Congressman Toomey and Senator Specter. The Senator also has an opponent in the primary who he christened no show Joe. Joe Sestak has one of the worse records for missing votes in the Congress. 105 so far this year.

The Congressman is all in because the line to fill his seat is long. It may be a Republican pick up with U. S. Attorney of Pat Meehan (of Vince Fumo and Corey Kemp prosecution fame). An entrepreneur Steve Welch is also filing on the GOP side. On the Democrat side, two state representatives Vitali and Lentz are battling it out so far. Considering how tight the state house is that can't make the Democratic powers that be sleep well at night.

The state budget is still a mess. The Governor line itemed out all but 11 billion of the state budget of 27 billion. He turned the bill into a bridge budget. He kept everything to do with payroll and essential public safety. The rest was tossed back to the legislature.

NY- PA is getting more of a senate race while New York has less of one. Senator Gillibrand (D)no longer has a primary challenge from her left and is currently unopposed within the party.

Governor Open Marriage Patterson made an exception to the hiring freeze to hire his party partner to an $88,000 deputy of federal and state affairs position.

NYC had to raise taxes they said now the mayor and council are giving significant raises to staffers.

Delaware of course seems tame in comparison. The Republicans just won a special election for the senate seat formerly held by the late President Pro Tem Thurman Adams (D). Now there is a special election to fill the seat of victorious 37th Rep. Republican Joe Booth. Delaware also got a green light this week to start sports betting in September. It is the only state East of the Rookies allowed to do so under federal law.

VA Governor's race shocker

The aftermath of the debate is in. Bob McDonnell has taken a 14 point lead in a Democratic poll. It is even a little worse in the public poll. Deeds can still turn it around so Republicans can't get over confident. Nonetheless it is powerful that McDonnell is over 50% in every post debate poll. Add to this that the National generic ballot favors the GOP by its highest level in years, and it could be a very good off year for the party pronounced dead less than a year ago. Most importantly, the Republicans will win Booth's seat according to a poll. I asked three people. (I saw smiles, don't deny it.)

The Democrats are not any better off in NJ. There is talk about Democrats pulling a Torricelli and trying for an October surprise. More on that Friday.

Around the Mid Atlantic

New Jersey's elite is even fed up with the corruption. Even the Cook Report can't pretend this race has not changed. All of the major political prognosticators are leaning toward Christie. Corzine is reduced to ads which say Christie is a conservative. He should have checked his polling then he would have found conservative is a positive word in New Jersey. The governor is also trying to trash Mr. Christie for a plea bargain that had nothing to do with him. The backlash from the latest round of toll hikes won't help the Governor.

Maryland--Baltimore had more indictments including additional charges against the Democrat Mayor Shelia Dixon and a new indictment against a councilwoman Helen Holton (D-Dist. 8).

New York--Still broken. The good news is that they have time on their hands in the city to persecute people for facebook notes that are not PC. Free speech is dead in Manhattan along with independent thought.

Meanwhile, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, a Democrat, accepted the resignation of Lee Landor, his deputy press secretary, after she called Gates a racist and referred to President Barack Obama as "O-dumb-a."

Pennsylvania-- No wonder Governor Rendell is losing points with the people. He is losing it. He told the legislature to pass the GOP budget then he said that he would line item out 3/4 of it. He then said the next day that the budget shouldn't be political theater. He then called upon the legislature to produce a bridge budget. State workers were missing a paycheck. The governor vowed to find a way to fully fund them even if services couldn't be funded. Governor Rendell then blasted the committee trying to solve the crisis and simultaneously called for rising above political differences. Interestingly enough it is not just the Republicans running the senate who oppose his tax hikes. A blue dog caucus from western Pennsylvania also does. It has about 20 members. In spite of bipartisan opposition, he just can't accept the 27 billion dollar budget with no tax increase, yet everyone else needs to stop being partisan.

Virginia-- The 2007 Virginia Tech murders are still weighing down the political culture. The families are divided over whether or not to reopen the investigation because of the mental health file of the murderer being found recently by an ex-employee who accidentally took it home in his papers.

Former Rep. Virgil Goode won't contest the seat he lost by 727 votes of 300,000 in the 5th district.

The first debate occurred between Deeds and McDonnell. Transportation dominated it. Deeds would not take taxes off the table. His plan was to call a special session. McDonnell planned to dedicate a portion of the revenue increase from NoVA growth to transportation infrastructure in the area. Deeds said it would pit school children against roads.

Deeds changed his mind on the "gun show loophole". He said that he would not emphasize his views on social issues like his support of abortion and gay rights. With his change on taxes and guns, it almost makes you wonder where the moderate who won the primary went.

Let's Trade In This Clunker --> Congress

by William Warren:

Cartoon -- Couple Discusses Using Cash for Clunker Program:

"It's inefficient, drains our budget, and doesn't work well at all. We should trade it in!
So how much can we get for this clunker?" - - -> Pointing to the US Congress

by Ozark Guru: Well, in 2010, we (the people) have an opportunity to trade in a large part of Congress. Get involved and work to turn America back from the rampant socialist spending and the destruction of American businesses, jobs and the economy and our health care and our WORKING class. Yes, the working class; those who work! Those who have lived free and choose not to surrender their freedom for a few empty promises that in reality strip away everything they have and make them part of welfare class needing the government to decide when, where and how to take care of them.

Card Checked! - The Game

[H/T ARRA News Service]