The Myth of the Fiscally Conservative Blue Dog Democrats

The Club for Growth has done an excellent review of the actual voting record of the Blue Dog Democrats and has found it to be a myth that they are fiscally conservative or responsible.  Among the major findings in their report are these:

• In 1995, when the Blue Dog Coalition was started, the National Taxpayer's Union rated the Blue Dogs aggregate score as 52%, but that score has fallen greatly since then.  By 2007, the year the Democrats took control of the House, the Blue Dog aggregate score was a mere 10%.  In that year, the number of Blue Dogs greatly exceeded the 15-vote majority held by the Democrats, so the Blue Dogs could have stopped much fiscally irresponsible nonsense.  Even in the 2009 Congress, the Blue Dogs outnumbered the 40 seat Democrat majority.
• Blue Dog support for Fannie & Freddie Bailout, 100%
• Blue Dog support for TARP, 63%
• Blue Dog support for 2009 Stimulus Package, 91%
• Blue Dog support for Cash for Clunkers, 85%
• Blue Dog support for 2009 Obama Budget, 74%
• Blue Dog support for Car Company Bailout, 73%
• Blue Dog support for ObamaCare, 54%
• The Blue Dogs voted with Nancy Pelosi 80% of the time in the present 111th Congress.
• PAYGO was the signature Blue Dog commitment.  It promised that new programs would be paid for.  Only entitlement spending is covered, however, while annual discretionary appropriations bills and emergency spending bills are not.
• The PAYGO rule can be waived by a mere majority vote.  Since 2007, the Democrats have waived or ignored it 31 times.  Blue Dogs agreed to this 86% of the time.
• 52 of the current 54 Blue Dogs love earmarks.

The Blue Dogs are simply pretenders or poseurs.  They talk like middle-of-the-roaders when talking to the bulk of their constituents, but they vote like socialists whenever they think the voters are not paying much attention.  Apparently, they have come to believe that the voters are not paying attention most of the time.

ObamaCare and the Close Races for Seats in the House

1 Nov 2010 Update: DEM Seats: 2 Safe DEM became Likely DEM, 3 Likely DEM became Leans DEM, 9 Leans DEM became Toss-up, 1 Leans DEM became Leans GOP, 4 Toss-ups became Leans GOP, 2 Leans GOP became Likely GOP, 3 Leans GOP became Toss-ups, 2 Toss-ups became Leans DEM;  GOP Seats: 1 Likely GOP became Leans GOP.  The change is the DEM Seats moved 17 categories toward the GOP advantage, while GOP Seats moved 1 category to the DEM advantage.  The shift remains continuous toward the Republicans.  I now expect the GOP to pick up 68 seats in the House.


25 Oct 2010 Update: DEM Seats: 2 Likely DEM became Leans DEM, 3 Leans DEM became Toss-ups, 10 Toss-ups become Leans GOP, 1 Leans GOP becomes Likely GOP, 1 Leans GOP becomes Toss-up, 2 Toss-ups become Leans DEM, 1 Leans DEM becomes Likely DEM, GOP Seats:  No Changes.  The sum of the Safe GOP, Likely GOP, and Leans GOP seats would give the GOP 222 seats, or 4 more than the majority.  I expect the GOP to win about 20 of the 34 Toss-up seats given the momentum of more and more DEM seats becoming more and more at risk.  The GOP should gain about 64 seats and have 242 seats in the next session of the House of Representatives!


19 Oct 2010 Update:  DEM Seats: 2 Likely DEM became Leans DEM, 4 Leans DEM became Toss-ups, 1 Toss-up became Leans GOP; GOP Seats: 1 Leans DEM became Toss-up, 1 Likely GOP became Leans GOP.  Mostly Democrat seats continue to move toward being more contested.  The situation for GOP seats is more static and it remains true that they are not moving seats into Likely GOP or into Safe GOP. 

16 Oct 2010 Update:  DEM Seats: 9 Safe DEM became Likely DEM, 3 Likely DEM became Leans DEM, 3 Leans DEM became Toss-ups, 2 Toss-ups became Leans GOP,  1 Toss-up became Leans DEM, 1 Leans GOP became a Toss-up, GOP Seats: 1 Toss-up became a Leans DEM.  The change is that fewer and fewer Democrat seats are safe, but that the Republicans cannot lock additional seats as safe.  Apparently the People are sending the message they are unhappy with the DEMS but not so sure about the GOP either.

12 Oct 2010 Update:  DEM Seats: 3 Safe DEM became Likely DEM, 2 Likely DEM became Leans DEM, One Leans DEM became Toss-up, One Toss-up became Leans GOP, and one Leans GOP became Likely GOP, GOP Seats:  One Likely GOP became Leans GOP,  The change remains massively in GOP favor!

11  Oct 2010 Update:  DEM Seats: 2 Safe DEM became Likely DEM, 1 Likely DEM became Leans DEM, GOP Seats:  No changes, The change favors the GOP.

7 Oct 2010 Update:  DEM Seats: 2 Safe Seats became DEM Likely, 3 Leans DEM became Toss-ups, 2 Toss-ups became Leans GOP, 1 Leans GOP became Likely GOP, 1 Likely GOP became Leans GOP, GOP Seats: 1 Leans DEM became Toss-up, The change favors the GOP.

The single most egregious act of Obama and the Democrat Congress was the passage of ObamaCare. This act implements the planned theft of every American's body and the imposition of a tyrannical control by bureaucrats over who lives and who dies.  The most important outcome of the election in November is to put control of the House of Representatives in the hands of Representatives who will use the power of the House to initiate expenditures to prevent the funding of ObamaCare.  Steve King, a Republican Representative from Iowa, has made a motion to discharge a number of committees from considering H.R. 4972 to repeal ObamaCare.  Most, but not all, Republican members of the House have signed this motion.  Only one Democrat has signed it, that being Gene Taylor, of Mississippi, who is in a tight race to retain his seat.  I have put the name of the Republican opponent to those who voted for ObamaCare at the end of the line for each of the tyrannical beasts of the House of Representatives.

RealClearPolitics as of 2 October had the races for the House evaluated as follows:

139 [now 137] [now 135] [now 132] [now 123] [now 121] Seats Safe for Democrats, all of which were Democrat
18 [now 20] [now 21] [now 22] [now 28] [now 26] [now 25] [now 24] Seats Likely Democratic, all of which are held by Democrats now
33 [now 29] [now 30] [now 31] [now 33] [now 30] [now 31] [now 26] Seats Leaning Democrat, all but 3 [2] [3] [2] of which are now held by Democrats
38 [now 39] [now 43] [now 34] [now 40] Seats Rated Toss-ups, all but 1 [2] [1] [2] of which are now held by Democrats
30 [now 33] [now 34] [now 35] [now 37] [now 45] [now 46] Seats that Leans GOP, all but 2 [4] [5] [6] of which are now held by Democrats
14 [now 13] [now 14] [now 15] Seats that are Likely GOP, 9 [8] [7] [6] of which are now held by Republicans
163 Seats Safe for the Republicans

11 races shifted by one category of probability since the original post.  10 of those shifts were favorable to the Republicans.  Only Virginia District 5 moved in favor of the Democrats, shifting from Likely GOP to Leans GOP.

Because Nancy Pelosi had votes to spare on ObamaCare, a few of the Democrat majority from much less socialist districts than hers were given permission to vote against the bill.  Since what matters in the next session of Congress is the defunding of ObamaCare, there is no point in voting for a would-be member of the House who has not announced his intent to relentlessly attack ObamaCare by signing the discharge motion.  For those who want to destroy the tyranny of ObamaCare, it is a very good idea to make campaign contributions to the Republican opponent of the Democrats in close races who either voted for ObamaCare or who have not signed the motion to discharge to indicate they are actual proponents of the repeal of ObamaCare.

Generally speaking, there will be very few Democrats who will ever be useful allies in the critical cause of overturning centrally planned and controlled medical care in the United States, which the pretended fiscal conservativism of the Blue Dog Democrats has proven.  I have indicated which Democrats are in the Blue Dog Caucus, which mostly just means that they pretend to their constituents that they are fiscally conservative and says very little about how they vote in Congress.  In addition, I have identified those who are members of the Democratic Socialists of America Caucus.  Of the 70 socialist Representatives, only 10 are in close races, despite Americans general turn-away from socialism.  These socialist Representatives should be especially targeted. The closely contested races by state are:

Alabama
Bobby Bright, D, 2nd District, Toss-up, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender
Parker Griffith, R, 5th District, Likely GOP, No on ObamaCare

Arkansas
Marion Berry, D, 1st District, Leans GOP, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender
Mike Ross, D, 4th District, Likely DEM, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender
Vic Snyder, D, 2nd District, Likely GOP, No on ObamaCare

Arizona
Gabrielle Giffords, D, 8th District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Jesse Kelly
Raul Grijalva, D, 7th District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Ruth McClung, Was Safe DEM, Was Likely DEM, Was Leans DEM
Ann Kirkpatrick, D, 1st District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Was Toss-up, Opp. Paul Gosar
Harry Mitchell, D, 5th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. David Schweikert
John Shadegg, R, 3rd District, Leans GOP, No on ObamaCare, Signed Motion to Discharge, Was Likely GOP

California
Mary Bono, R, 45th District, Likely GOP, No on ObamaCare, Signed Motion to Discharge
Dennis Cardoza, D, 18th District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Mike Berryhill
Jim Costa, D, 20th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Andy Vidak, Was Toss-up
Daniel Lungren, R, 3rd District, Leans GOP, No on ObamaCare, Signed Motion to Discharge
Jerry McNerney, D, 11th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. David Harmer, Was Toss-up
Loretta Sanchez, D, 47th District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Van Tran

Colorado
Betsy Markey, D, 4th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Cory Gardner
Ed Perlmutter, D, 7th District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare,  Opp. Ryan Frazier
John Salazar, D, 3rd District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Scott Tipton

Connecticut
Joe Courtney, D, 2nd District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Was Safe DEM, Opp. Janet Peckinpaugh
Jim Hines, D, 4th District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Dan Debicella, Was Leans DEM
John Larson, D, 1st District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Was Safe DEM, Opp. Ann Brickley
Christopher Murphy, D, 5th District, Toss-Up, Yes on ObamaCar, Was Leans DEM, Opp. Sam Caligiuri

Florida
Allen Boyd, D, 2nd District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Steve Southerland, Was Toss-up
Mario Diaz-Balart, R, 25th District, Leans GOP, No on ObamaCare, Signed Motion to Discharge, Was Likely GOP
Alan Grayson, D, 8th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Democratic Socialists of America Caucus, Opp. Dan Webster
Ron Klein, D, 22nd District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Allen West, Was Toss-up
Suzanne Kosmas, D, 24th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Sandy Adams
Adam Putnam, R, 12th District, Likely GOP, No on ObamaCare, Signed Motion to Discharge

Georgia
John Barrow, D, 12th District, Likely DEM, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender
Sanford Bishop, D, 2nd District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Mike Keown
Jim Marshall, D, 8th District, Leans GOP, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Was Toss-up

Hawaii
Charles Djou, R, 1st District, Toss-up, Special Election after ObamaCare Vote, Was Leans DEM

Idaho
Walt Minnick, D, 1st District, Toss-up, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Was Likely DEM

Illinois
Melissa Bean, D, 8th District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Joe Walsh
Bill Foster, D, 14th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Randy Hultgren, Was Toss-up
Phil Hare, D, 17th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Democratic Socialists of America Caucus, Opp. Bob Schilling, Was Toss-up
Deborah Halvorson, D, 11th District, Likely GOP, Yes on ObamaCar, Was Leans GOP, Opp. Adam Kinzinger
Mark Kirk, R, 10th District, Toss-up, No on ObamaCare, Running for Senate, Was Toss-up, Was Leans DEM

Indiana
Joe Donnelly, D, 2nd District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Jackie Walorski, Was Leans DEM

Brad Ellsworth, D, 8th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Larry Bucshon
Baron Hill, D, 9th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Todd Young, Was Toss-up

Iowa
Leonard Boswell, D, 3rd District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Brad Zaun, Was Toss-up
Bruce Braley, D, 1st District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Ben Lange, Was Leans DEM, Was Toss-up
David Loebsack, D, 2nd District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Democratic Socialists of America Caucus, Opp. Mariannette Miller-Meeks

Kansas
Dennis Moore, D, 3rd District, Likely GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Kevin Yoder, Was Leans GOP

Kentucky
Ben Chandler, D, 6th District, Toss-up, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Was Leans DEM
John Yarmuth, D, 3rd District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Todd Lally

Louisiana
Joseph Cao, R, 2nd District, Leans DEM, No on ObamaCare
Charlie Melancon, D, 3rd District, Likely GOP, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender

Maine

Michael Michaud, D, 2nd District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Jason Levesque, Was Leans DEM
Chellie Pingree, D, 1st District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Democratic Socialists of America Caucus, Opp. Dean Scontras, Was Leans DEM

Maryland
Frank Kratovil, D, 1st District, Leans GOP, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender

Massachusetts

William Delahunt, D, 10th District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Retiring, Opp. Jeff Perry
Barney Frank, D, 4th District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Democratic Socialists of America Caucus, Opp. Sean Bielat, Was Likely DEM
John Tierney, D, 6th District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Democratic Socialists of America Caucus, Opp. Bill Hudak
Niki Tsongas, D, 5th District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Jon Golvick

Michigan
John Dingell, D, 15th District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Rob Steele
Gary Peters, D, 9th District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Rocky Roczkowski
Mark Schauer, D, 7th District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Tim Walberg, Was Leans GOP
Bart Stupak, D, 1st District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Retiring, Opp. Dan Benishek

Minnesota
Michele Bachmann, R, 6th District, Likely GOP, No on ObamaCare, Signed Motion to Discharge
James Oberstar, D, 8th District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Was Safe DEM, Opp. Chip Cravaack, Was Likely DEM, Was Leans DEM
Timothy Walz, D, 1st District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Randy Demmer
Collin Peterson, D, 7th District, Likely DEM, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Was Safe DEM

Mississippi
Travis Childers, D, 1st District, Leans GOP, No on ObamaCare
Gene Taylor, D, 4th District, Toss-up, No on ObamaCare, Signed Motion to Discharge, Blue Dog Pretender, Was Leans DEM
Benny Thompson, D, 1st District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Democratic Socialists of America Caucus, Opp. Bill Marcy

Missouri
Russ Carnaham, D, 3rd District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Ed Martin, Was Likely DEM
Emanuel Cleaver, D, 5th District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Democratic Socialists of America Caucus, Opp. Jacob Turk, Was Safe
Ike Skelton, D, 4th District, Toss-up, No on ObamaCare

Nebraska

Lee Terry, R, 2nd District, Likely GOP, No on ObamaCare, Signed Motion to Discharge

Nevada

Dina Titus, D, 3rd District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Joe Heck, Was Toss-up

New Hampshire
Paul Hodes, D, 2nd District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Charlie Bass, Was Toss-up
Carol Shea-Porter, D, 1st District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Frank Guinta

New Jersey
John Adler, D, 3rd District, Leans GOP, No on ObamaCare, Was Toss-up
Rush Holt, D, 12th District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Scott Sipprelle
Frank Pallone, D, 6th District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCar, Was Safe DEM, Opp. Anna Little

New Mexico
Martin Heinrich, D, 1st District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Jon Barela, Was Toss-up
Ben Lujan, D, 3rd District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Democratic Socialists of America Caucus, Opp Tom Mullins
Harry Teague, D, 2nd District, Leans GOP, No on ObamaCare, Was Toss-up

New York 
Michael Arcuri, D, 24th District, Toss-up, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Was Leans DEM
Timothy Bishop, D, 1st District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Randy Altschuler

John Hall, D, 19th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Democratic Socialists of America Caucus, Opp. Nan Hayworth, Was Toss-up
Brian Higgins, D, 27th District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Lenny Roberto, Was Safe DEM
Maurice Hinchey, 22nd District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare,  Democratic Socialists of America, Caucus, Opp. George Phillips, Was Safe DEM, Was Likely DEM
Steve Israel, D, 2nd District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. John Gomez, Was Safe DEM
Daniel Maffei, D, 25th District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Ann Marie Buerkle, Was Leans DEM
Michael McMahon, D, 13th District, Toss-up, No on ObamaCare
Carolyn McCarthy, D, 4th District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Francis Becker, Was Safe DEM
Scott Murphy, D, 20th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Chris Gibson, Was Leans DEM
Bill Owens, D, 23rd District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Matt Doheny, Was Leans DEM,Was Toss-up

North Carolina
Bob Etheridge, D, 2nd District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Renee Ellmers, Was Leans DEM
Larry Kissell, D, 8th District, Leans GOP, No on ObamaCare
Mike McIntyre, D, 7th District, Toss-up, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Was Leans DEM
Brad Miller, D, 13th District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Bill Randall, Was Safe DEM
David Price, D, 4th District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. B. J. Lawson
Heath Shuler, D, 11th District, Toss-up, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender

North Dakota

Earl Pomeroy, D, At-Large, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Rick Berg

Ohio 
John Boccieri, D, 16th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Jim Renacci
Steve Driehaus, D, 1st District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Steve Chabot
Mary Jo Kilroy, D, 15th District, Likely GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Steve Stivers, Was Leans GOP
Dennis Kucinich, D, 10th District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Democratic Socialists of America Caucus, Opp. Peter Corrigan, Was Safe DEM
Zachary Space, D, 18th District, Leans GOP, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Was Toss-up
Betty Sutton, D, 13th District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Tom Ganley
Pat Tiberi, R, 12th District, Likely GOP, No on ObamaCare, Signed Motion to Discharge
Charles Wilson, D, 6th District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Bill Johnson, Was Likely DEM

Oklahoma
Dan Boren, D, 2nd District, Likely DEM, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender

Oregon
Peter DeFazio, D, 4th District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Democratic Socialists of America Caucus, Opp. Art Robinson, Was Likely DEM
Kurt Schrader, D, 5th District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Scott Bruun
David Wu, D, 1st District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Rob Cornilles

Pennsylvania

Jason Altmire, D, 4th District, Leans DEM, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender
Christopher Carney, D, 10th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Tom Marino
Mark Critz, D, 12th District, Toss-up, Special Election since ObamaCare Vote
Kathy Dahlkenper, D, 3rd District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Mike Kelly
Charles Dent, R, 15th District, Leans GOP, No on ObamaCare, Signed Motion to Discharge
Jim Gerlach, R, 6th District, Leans GOP, No on ObamaCare, Signed Motion to Discharge
Tim Holden, D, 17th District, Likely DEM, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Was Leans DEM

Paul Kanjorski, D, 11th District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Lou Barletta, Was Leans GOP
Patrick Murphy, D, 8th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Mike Fitzpatrick
Allyson Schwartz, D, 13th District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Carson Adcock, Was Safe DEM
Joe Sestak, D, 7th District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Senate Candidate, Opp. Pat Meehan, Was Leans GOP

Rhode Island
Patrick Kennedy, D, 1st District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Retiring, Opp. John Loughlin, Was Likely DEM, Was Leans DEM

South Carolina
John Spratt, D, 5th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Mick Mulvaney, Was Toss-up

South Dakota

Herseth Sandlin, At-Large, Leans GOP, No on ObamaCare, Was Toss-up

Tennessee
Jim Cooper, D, 5th District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. David Hall
Lincoln Davis, D, 4th District, Toss-up, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Was Leans DEM
Bart Gordon, D, 6th District, Likely GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Opp. Diane Black
John Tanner, D, 8th District, Likely GOP, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Was Leans GOP

Texas
Lloyd Doggett, D, 25th District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Donna Campbell, Was Safe DEM

Chet Edwards, D, 17th District, Likely GOP, No on ObamaCare, Was Leans GOP
Rube Hinojosa, D, 15th District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Eddie Zamora, Was Safe DEM
Solomon Ortiz, D, 27th District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. R. Blake Farenthoid, Was Safe DEM, Was Likely DEM 

Ciro Rodriguez, D, 23rd District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Francisco Canseco

Utah
Jim Matheson, D, 2nd District, Likely DEM, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender

Virginia
Rick Boucher, D, 9th District, Toss-up, No on ObamaCare
Gerald Connelly, D, 3rd District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Keith Fimian
Glenn Nye, D, 2nd District, Leans GOP, No on ObamaCare, Blue Dog Pretender, Was Toss-up
Tom Perriello, D, 5th District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Was Likely GOP, Opp. Robert Hurt

Washington
Brian Baird, D, 3rd District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Jaime Herrera, Was Leans GOP
Norman Dicks, D, 6th District, Likely DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Douglas Cloud, Was Safe
Rick Larsen, D, 2nd District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. John Koster, Was Leans DEM
David Reichert, R, 8th District, Leans GOP, No on ObamaCare, Was Likely GOP
Adam Smith, D, 9th District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Dick Muri, Was Leans DEM

West Virginia
Alan Mollohan, D, 1st District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. David McKinley
Nick Rahall, D, 3rd District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Elliott "Spike" Maynard

Wisconsin
Steve Kagen, D, 8th District, Toss-up, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Reid Ribble
Ron Kind, D, 3rd District, Leans DEM, Yes on ObamaCare, Opp. Dan Kapanke
David Obey, D, 3rd District, Leans GOP, Yes on ObamaCare, Retiring, Opp. Sean Duffy

If you are a Winter Soldier for the equal, sovereign individual rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness, then you will join this desperate fight to kill this brutal, totalitarian threat by ObamaCare to our lives and liberties.  Defunding and then repealing this monstrosity of socialism may very likely save your life or that of some of your loved ones.  There is no better use for the money your work has earned you than to turn it into a fatal weapon against tyranny in this epic battle for American freedoms.  Please give to your fullest possible extent so that we can replace Pelosi as Speaker of the House and proceed to dismantle and repeal ObamaCare.  The dismantling can begin in 2011, though the repeal will require the addition of many more Senators committed to repeal in 2012 and the replacement of Obama with a Republican committed to repealing ObamaCare.

Democrats Want to Pass DISCLOSE Act Again

Having failed once to pass the DISCLOSE Act, which is designed to suppress political ideas prior to elections and to intimidate Americans who oppose those in power, the Democrats in control of Congress are trying to revive this nefarious act.  It is designed to help incumbents, mostly Democrats, stay in office by preventing the opposition from revealing and discussing their voting record at election time.  It is designed to replace the McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Reform Act which the Supreme Court rightly found unconstitutional.

This act passed the House of Representatives in June, but it could not get enough votes in the Senate to bring it up for a vote at that time.  It is only the Senate which needs to act on it now.  Tomorrow, there is to be a provisional vote to end debate on the act.  If the Democrats succeed on that, they will vote it through, despite it obviously being unconstitutional.  It will take years to go to the Supreme Court for a decision, which the Democrats are counting on to help reduce their losses in the November election.  It might even reduce their losses in the 2012 election.

The DISCLOSE Act is also anti-business in that it puts all of its restrictions upon businesses and special purpose political corporate entities.  Labor unions, the NRA, the AARP, and the Humane Society are exempted.  Note that all of the exempted groups are long-time Democrat allies, except the NRA.

The NRA's opposition to the law was bought off with their exemption.  So, while the NRA has done good work in protecting our Second Amendment rights, it has proved a traitor on this fundamental issue of our freedom of speech.  The AARP has long supported ageist warfare and advocated the redistribution of wealth from the poorer young to older and wealthier Americans.  Of course, the labor unions, who spend incredible sums influencing elections in favor of the Democrats as their most-favored special interest group, are exempted.

On the other hand, the DISCLOSE Act discriminates against business and special purpose political groups that incorporate.  They have to spend valuable air time having their CEOs explain who funded the ad.  The CEO also has to invest valuable time in the making of the ad.  Some incorporated Tea Party or other political groups will have their freedom of speech suppressed.  The idea is clearly to make it harder for the opposition of those now in power, who are mostly Democrats, to effectively influence the People during the upcoming election in November.

The Progressives believe the People are stupid and foolish.  They need to be controlled by the college educated elite who are properly indoctrinated in their elite qualifications to choose the People's values and to micro-manage their lives in accordance with Progressive rules.  Sunstein, Obama and friends know how to nudge us in the right direction, but they need to cut us off from the opposing storyline.  We are so dumb, we might believe much of what the evil corporations or Tea Party groups tell us.  Yes, only the Progressive message of the labor unions, the AARP, and the Humane Society should be allowed to reach our so-susceptible ears.  This is the political correctness of the government-run schools written large across the entire country.  The People cannot be expected to evaluate information on their own.  No, only that information shifted and selected by the Progressives should be allowed to reach the ignorant and dumb People.

When the People are seen as ignorant and dumb, they are also seen as the servants of their masters.  The Democrat elitist Progressives are supposed to be our masters and they will not brook any opposition voices, such as businesses and Tea Party incorporated groups.

It is sweet to observe that one of the two Republicans who voted for this measure in the House was Mike Castle of Delaware.  Mike Castle expected to fill out the remaining four years on Joe Biden's Senate term, but was beaten by the Tea Party candidate, Christine O'Donnell.  That was a great act of justice, since Castle really is a Progressive control freak.

Meanwhile, O'Donnell is strongly opposed to ObamaCare, the financial control bill, the incredible deficit spending, labor union card check, renewable energy subsidies and mandates, and the nonsense that CO2 emissions are causing a global warming catastrophe.  She has some considerable conservative lifestyle and "family values" nonsensical baggage, but in the present context, it is important to get her into the Senate.  If she goes awry too much on promoting that "family value" nonsense, she can be replaced in 2014, after much of the Progressive program for governmental controls has been derailed.

Congress Members in the Democratic Socialists of America Caucus

The American Socialist Voter, a publication of the Democratic Socialists of America, claims that the Democratic Socialists of America Caucus in the United States Congress has a membership of 70 Representatives and one Senator.  It also claims that 11 of these Democratic Socialists of America sit on the House Judiciary Committee.  The members of the caucus are:

Co-Chairs

Hon. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07)

Hon. Lynn Woolsey (CA-06)

Vice Chairs

Hon. Diane Watson (CA-33)

Hon. Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX-18)

Hon. Mazie Hirono (HI-02)

Hon. Dennis Kucinich (OH-10)

Senate Members

Hon. Bernie Sanders (VT)

House Members

Hon. Neil Abercrombie (HI-01)

Hon. Tammy Baldwin (WI-02)

Hon. Xavier Becerra (CA-31)

Hon. Madeleine Bordallo (GU-AL)

Hon. Robert Brady (PA-01)

Hon. Corrine Brown (FL-03)

Hon. Michael Capuano (MA-08)

Hon. André Carson (IN-07)

Hon. Donna Christensen (VI-AL)

Hon. Yvette Clarke (NY-11)

Hon. William “Lacy” Clay (MO-01)

Hon. Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05)

Hon. Steve Cohen (TN-09)

Hon. John Conyers (MI-14)

Hon. Elijah Cummings (MD-07)

Hon. Danny Davis (IL-07)

Hon. Peter DeFazio (OR-04)

Hon. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03)

Rep. Donna F. Edwards (MD-04)

Hon. Keith Ellison (MN-05)

Hon. Sam Farr (CA-17)

Hon. Chaka Fattah (PA-02)

Hon. Bob Filner (CA-51)

Hon. Barney Frank (MA-04)

Hon. Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11)

Hon. Alan Grayson (FL-08)

Hon. Luis Gutierrez (IL-04)

Hon. John Hall (NY-19)

Hon. Phil Hare (IL-17)

Hon. Maurice Hinchey (NY-22)

Hon. Michael Honda (CA-15)

Hon. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-02)

Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30)

Hon. Hank Johnson (GA-04)

Hon. Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)

Hon. Carolyn Kilpatrick (MI-13)

Hon. Barbara Lee (CA-09)

Hon. John Lewis (GA-05)

Hon. David Loebsack (IA-02)

Hon. Ben R. Lujan (NM-3)

Hon. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14)

Hon. Ed Markey (MA-07)

Hon. Jim McDermott (WA-07)

Hon. James McGovern (MA-03)

Hon. George Miller (CA-07)

Hon. Gwen Moore (WI-04)

Hon. Jerrold Nadler (NY-08)

Hon. Eleanor Holmes-Norton (DC-AL)

Hon. John Olver (MA-01)

Hon. Ed Pastor (AZ-04)

Hon. Donald Payne (NJ-10)

Hon. Chellie Pingree (ME-01)

Hon. Charles Rangel (NY-15)

Hon. Laura Richardson (CA-37)

Hon. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34)

Hon. Bobby Rush (IL-01)

Hon. Linda Sánchez (CA-39, though incorrectly given as Loretta Sanchez' CA-47 in The American Socialist Voter)

Hon. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)

Hon. José Serrano (NY-16)

Hon. Louise Slaughter (NY-28)

Hon. Pete Stark (CA-13)

Hon. Bennie Thompson (MS-02)

Hon. John Tierney (MA-06)

Hon. Nydia Velazquez (NY-12)

Hon. Maxine Waters (CA-35)

Hon. Mel Watt (NC-12)

Hon. Henry Waxman (CA-30)

Hon. Peter Welch (VT-AL)

Hon. Robert Wexler (FL-19)

Not surprisingly, my Representative, Donna Edwards, is one of these Democratic Socialists of America.  It is clear that there is a core group of Democrats who do not hesitate to proclaim themselves socialists in socialist circles, though I expect they are reluctant for the most part to tell their constituents of this.

YouCut: Vote for the Programs You Want Eliminated in our Bloated Government

Eric Cantor, the Republican Whip in the House of Representatives, has been operating an on-line program, called YouCut, which describes five government programs or expenditures each week and allows the People to vote for the one they most want to be cut.  Cantor then proposes the cut on the House floor and demands a vote.  Each week, the vast majority of Democrats oppose the cut, while the majority of Republicans vote for the cut.  Because the Republicans are so out-numbered, the Democrats are almost always able to keep the spending going.  But, it does put them on record for favoring a program or expenditure many voters and taxpayers oppose.  This provides election time ammunition for a canny Republican opponent, maybe even in a primary where the incumbent Republican voted to sustain the unpopular program.

This program is also valuable for the People, since it makes it easy for them to become familiar with many wasteful programs and identifies many special interest groups taking advantage of them.   YouCut should be maintained whether the Republicans gain control of the House in the November 2010 election or not.  Keeping it in place will help to keep the Republicans focused on making the cuts in government programs that are very badly needed.  The program is already rather popular, with 1.3 million votes cast.  Please add your own votes.

The programs which won the People's votes in previous weeks and were brought up for a vote in the House are listed below.  The votes are given as cast by each House member, but after week 3, the final tally is not given at Eric Cantor's YouCut website.  I was not willing to count the Yes and No votes to get the total, but look up the vote of your representative.  For the first 3 weeks, the vote on the cut is given as [Yes, No].

Week One: Cut the New Non-Reformed Welfare Program ($25 Billion Savings) [177-240]

Week Two: Eliminate Federal Employee Pay Raise ($30 Billion Savings) [183-227]

Week Three: Reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ($30 Billion Savings) [180-230]

Week Four: Sell Excess Federal Property ($15 Billion Savings)

Week Five: Prohibit Hiring New IRS Agents to Enforce Health Care Law ($15 Billion Savings)

Week Six: Taxpayer Subsidized Union Activities ($1.2 Billion Savings)

Week Seven: Prohibit Stimulus Funding for Promotional Signage (Tens of Millions)

Week Eight: Prohibit Sleeper Car Subsidies on Amtrak ($1.2 billion Savings)

Week Nine: Bipartisan Proposal to Terminate AEITC ($1.1 billion Savings)

Week Ten: Require Collection of Unpaid Taxes From Federal Employees ($1 billion Savings)

The Democrats just voted against collecting unpaid taxes from Federal employees, thereby allowing federal employees to receive taxpayer money without paying their own taxes. I suppose that just warms your heart to know that the Democrats think so highly of "public service" and so little of the People who serve as hosts to many of the public servant parasites.

One might argue in this day of trillion dollar programs that cutting programs which are only a few million or tens of millions of dollars a year does not matter.  But, the accumulated effect of the cutting of such programs on a weekly basis over a few years time will be very significant.  It also sends a message in a clear way to our Congressmen to keep them focused on better and leaner government.  Finally, it puts a great many special interests on notice that their subsidies and special treatment are subject to being cut at any time because the People are finally paying attention to their games to take advantage of the People.  This is a step in the right direction toward getting Congress and the special interest groups to take the American People seriously.  We need to be on watch and make it known that we are watching and then acting to take our government back!

Harry Reid Complains About Slow Senate

Under Senator Harry Reid's term as Majority Leader this last couple of years, the Senate has buillt up a backlog of 400 items passed by the House of Representatives that the Senate has not taken up.  Despite the large Democrat majority, the Republicans have been able to keep the Senate from passing these 400 bills which are surely mostly further Progressive attempts to micro-manage the lives of the People.

In particular, Reid has recently complained about how Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, has kept the Senate from passing legislation to overhaul how the FDA controls our foods.  Reid claims to have spent the whole Congress on this FDA food control bill.  Senator Coburn thinks the Senate should say how it is going to pay for the new bill and that its merits should be discussed on the Senate floor.  Apparently, Reid believes a bill which some staffers have spent a whole session of Congress working up, which no Senators have read, and which has not been discussed on the Senate floor, is ready for passage.  He wants to use the Democrat's favorite trick of hurry up and pass this bill so we can find out what is in it.  Senator Coburn is a bad guy for standing in his way.

It is clear to me and I am sure to most Americans now, that Senator Coburn is protecting our individual freedoms and our General Welfare by opposing the tyrant Reid.  Can you even begin to imagine how much worse off we would be if the Senate had passed those 400 bills of new mischief and power aggrandizement that the huge Democrat majority in the House enabled them to pass.  The laundry list of socialist mandates and spending in those 400 bills is probably staggering.

9/12 Demonstrators Strike Terror in Progressive Elitists

On Sunday, 12 September 2010, I and my wife Anna joined the 9/12 demonstrators before the Capitol to protest against big government, wild, insane spending, and massive violations of the rights of the individual.  The crowd, on a rainy, wet day, was large, but not so large as at the 9/12 demonstration of a one year ago.  I suspect that many people stayed home to work to get Tea Party candidates elected to office.  Others, most likely learned from their earlier attempts that the current politicians in Washington, few of whom were there due to the election coming up in November, are so contemptuous of the people they rule, that they have no interest in the people's thoughts and concerns.  Therefore, it is wisest simply to toss them out of office.  Still, the crowd was large and I observed it from about 1 PM to about 4:30 PM.  I took 246 photos of demonstrators and will present some of those here.

Of course, we have from the good authority of the socialist media that such people as these demonstrators are racists, ignorant rednecks, neo-Nazis, all radical, intolerant Christian bullies, homophobes, immigrant haters, and violent beyond belief.  Let us examine some pictures of these people who would strike terror in the hearts of any civilized human being:

"Our Founding Fathers Warned Against National Debt," hmmm.... is that a well-known Nazi saying or what?  "We Can't Afford You."  Perhaps being too poor to be a good Nazi socialist is just a redneck thing.  Notice the many military-like uniforms, the blackjacks, the hobnailed boots, and the raised arms.  We would see the fangs, except everyone is looking in the direction of a speaker, probably a Hitler-like harranger and demagogue.

This gray-haired woman under an umbrella looks mighty threatening.  Quite interesting that on a rainy day she had the creativity to use her umbrella as a protest sign.  If she gets her hands on the controls of government, we had better watch out.  She will be a formidable foe to the Progressive agenda.  ObamaCare = Slavery and Got Personal Responsibility?  How could you be more threatening?

This smiling lady did not look sufficiently threatening to be holding such a subversive sign.  Imagine someone sending the message that people should read Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged.  Imagine telling people it is OK to be concerned about their own self-interest and to act on it.  Then there is all that horrible stuff about legitimate government from the American Declaration of Independence and even a notion that people have rights not granted to them by a beneficent government in the Bill of Rights.  Imagine calling our Mommy Dearest government a tyranny and illegitimate!  That it spends 70% of its expenditures unconstitutionally.  So, I investigated and found that she was simply holding the sign for a husband who was running around the demonstration taking pictures.  He is, no doubt, the evil one.  Then note also that the umbrella lady has also enjoined you to Work Harder: Millions on Welfare are Depending on You.

Here we have someone scaring the children, babies even, with the idea that their debt is huge.  How much kinder it would be to leave the baby in innocence until it discovers how much debt it owes, say, after graduating from college.  At least we know the government-run schools and the progressive colleges will not scare them with such hoary facts!  They are so kind and thoughtful, but not these wicked people!

How uncouth to imply that a Congressional Democrat is a socialist?  How can anyone complain about the government pulling money out of their wallets when they are doing so much good with while paying off Obama's supporters and enlisting them as special interests so they will support socialist policies?  Oops, I meant to say so they would support forward-thinking Progressive policies with central planning by the Mommy State to take care of those many, many Americans who are so helpless and pitifully in need.

Oh, another Uncle Tom.  Ahh.... maybe not.  He is probably a poor homeless, uneducated man who can't even read the sign he is holding.  Those nasty protesters probably paid him so much to hold that sign that he just couldn't resist.  This just demonstrates once again how right the Progressives are in knowing very well that black Americans are incapable of choosing their own values and living their own lives.  Look how they are just so vulnerable to the manipulations of the worst elements in our society.  We elitists must remember it is not his fault.  This is why we have a very, very big government:  To take care of him and to manipulate his vote before the nasty people do.

The woman in the wheelchair stood up briefly.  This proves she is probably an assassin waiting for a black Congressman to pass by.  You have to watch carefully for these sleeper terrorists that fill the ranks of the right-wing wingnuts.

Note the women with a young girl in the lower left.  She is holding a baby.  Is she just really, really irresponsible bringing these vulnerable innocents into the midst of these raving lunatic neo-Nazis?  Or is she an even more cleverly disguised assassin?  Note the sign quotes John Adams, that regressive firebrand of old, that claims that the Constitution is inadequate to a People who are not moral and religious.  You know, he almost got that right.  If he had said it is inadequate to a people who not moral, as we Progressives know no one is, and had left out the religious characteristic, he would have been a Progressive!  Of course, we Progressive do welcome religious people if they subscribe to the Progressive social program and if they understand that the Constitution is inadequate.

"Stop Convolutin' our Constitution."  My, she is even trying to sound like a redneck.  Doesn't she understand even that the Constitution is a living instrument of the Progressive Program?  What kind of education did she have?  Surely, not one in a quality school such as all of our union and government controlled schools are!  "Clean out Congress."  That sounds as though she intends to attack Congress with an assault weapon!

Wow, these neo-Nazis sure are effective in recruiting women.  This one is quite good-looking too, but I am sure her heart is black with evil.  Because she hates her black heart, she probably hates her black President.  Yes, that sounds like the right Progressive spin to put on this.

"Oust the Marxist Usurper! ...His Czars and Thugs!  Honduras did it!"  Wow, how extreme can you get.  These people have probably been reading too much of the radical Charles Anderson!  Why can't they understand that socialism will make everyone equal and provide for all their wants?  Why can't they understand that the State has to use Force to Make People do the Right Thing?  Why can't they understand the collective love of taking your neighbor's income and property and of making him give his time to community service.  Sure, sometimes we have to send someone sort of rough around to take his income or his property.  Sometimes we have to haul his retrograde ass off to jail because he would not obey the great will of the collective.  Sometimes we have to shoot someone.  But, mostly they get with the program and it is so good for everyone to be equally poor, except the elite leaders, who of course need to have more goodies than the rest so they can comfortably lead.  The President should have fine suits, while the people are more moral if they wear rags.

Oh no.  Apparently these three wandered into the midst of this dangerous, black-hating crowd by horrible accident.  It is unlikely that they made it out alive.  The wolves surely devoured them.  Do you suppose that pink jug is full of acid?  Gee, their bodies were probably not even found.  Their bones were probably even dissolved.  The werewolves probably drank all of their blood first.  How awful.  See why you blacks must always vote Democrat?  We give you the best police protection and the best educations.  We really take care of you.  And you owe us.  Never forget how much you owe us, the white Progressive elitists who put Obama into the symbolic Presidency.  The real power is in Congress.

Well, enough of this Progressivist commentary.  I saw no acts of violence and no angry arguments.  There were a few sentiments that this is a Christian nation, one sign against abortion, but not really very much of that even.  Mostly, the signs wanted less government, a constitutional government.  I only saw one sign opposing the Victory Mosque at Ground Zero.  As usual, the police were not needed, but the Progressive DC government and the Democrat Congress needed to pretend that they were.  The people there were a cross-section of America with people of all races there.  Yes, black Americans are in such thralldom to the Democrats, that they are underrepresented.  But, I get the impression that more black Americans are beginning to think for themselves.  There were rich and poor people.  There were grandparents, parents, young adults, and children.  You know, just your everyday group of terrorists.  Well, actually that is what they are, because they are terrifying the Democrat, socialist Congress and their minion politicians all across America.  Good for them.  The People have Awakened and Risen.  They want to cast off tyrannical government and replace it with a more constitutional, limited-power government, which respects their individual rights.

Justice Department Claims Taxing Power is Constitutionally Unlimited in Defense of ObamaCare

U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson ruled in Richmond, VA on 2 August that the Virginia attorney general lawsuit claiming that ObamaCare was unconstitutional had enough merit that he would not stop it from moving to a trial in October in Richmond.  The Virginia legislature has also passed a law protecting its citizens from being forced to buy health insurance by the federal government.  Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said, "The government cannot draft an unwilling citizen into commerce just so it can regulate him under the commerce clause."  Foolishly, the state of Virginia's lawyers have conceded that the federal government has broad powers to impose a tax, but they claim it has less power to impose a penalty. 

The Justice Department claims that Congress has broad authority to regulate private decisions on health care since those decisions affect the health care system and therefore interstate commerce.  They also claim the power to tax people who refuse to join mandated programs.  In fact, they go so far as to claim that the "courts are without authority to limit the exercise of the taxing power."

Now, the Justice Department is insanely wrong on both claims it is making.  This is not to say that they will not carry the day in court, but they are clearly making two unconstitutional arguments at the core of their case. 

First, they are claiming that anyone who does not purchase a health insurance plan acceptable to the federal government is affecting the health care system because at some time they will need to use the health care system.  This in turn means it affects interstate commerce.  So, a person is to be forced to buy a particular, mandated health insurance policy or one of a few such policies so that he will be forced to affect interstate commerce.  Well, actually, this may not be true at all.  First, some people will actually die without getting health care, though we do not know who they will be.  Second, some people are so wealthy that they have no need to purchase insurance to provide for their own health needs.  It is clear that the Obama faction want to force such people to buy policies which will subsidize others with less income, but such wealthy people are not evading a personal responsibility as the Justice Department argues they are.  Third, the policy best suited to some individuals will surely be different than the government mandated policies.  Fourth, it is a novel legal claim to force people to buy a product so that they have been forced to participate in commerce they did not want to participate in.  Fifth, that commerce still may not truly be interstate commerce since health plans are to be formulated and administered state by state.

Recall that Congress voted for ObamaCare while claiming that it did not represent a tax, which was a point Obama was very insistent upon.  But now, in the face of the challenge by the state of Virginia, and a separate lawsuit by the attorney generals of 20 other states, which is coming up for a similar ruling on whether it will be allowed to proceed, the Justice Department is claiming that Congress has the authority to pass ObamaCare based on its taxing power.  In fact, it has no such power since the taxing power only exists for the purpose of exercising the strictly enumerated powers in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, where there is no mention of caring for the medical needs of the People.  This inconvenient fact has long been ignored, however.

The current Justice Department claim goes even further than this usual usurpation of power by Congress.  It claims that the courts have no power to limit the taxation power!  Why is this going much further?  Because the Constitution places a further restriction on what Congress can do beyond enumerating its powers.  It says that Congress must legislate in such a way that it does not harm the General Welfare.  So, if ObamaCare is not consistent with the General Welfare, then it is unconstitutional.  Some will debate whether it is or not, though most of the American People have concluded that it is harmful to them.  What cannot be debated is this:  The taxing power of Congress is limited by the General Welfare and therefore it is a serious usurpation of power by Congress and the Justice Department to claim that power is unlimited.  This is clearly the claim of megalomaniacs.  There can be no question that if Congress levels a tax of 100% of income upon any American citizen, it has fundamentally violated his right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  The power to tax must have limits.  It cannot be unlimited.  If Congress were not to have enough sense to recognize this, then the courts would have to step in and declare the excessive taxes unconstitutional.

Judge Hudson recognized some of these problems.  He said, "Never before has the [Constitution's] commerce clause and associated necessary and proper clause been extended this far."  Indeed, if they are extended so far, then there are no limits to the power of the federal government except the few among the many rights still protected in the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment.  We can then be forced to participate in any market for any good or service and then be controlled by regulation.  We can be taxed in any way to any degree by government so that it can acquire all of our income and wealth, leaving us even homeless, without clothing, and without food.  Clearly, it is the job of the federal courts to squash these hugely inflated claims of power made by the Obama Justice Department in the name of the Democrat Congress.  Your life is at stake in this.  This is a claim of a right to tyrannical rule which King George III would not have attempted.

Now that the Justice Department has claimed that ObamaCare actually invokes taxation, let us examine the evolving size of this tax.  The Kaiser Family Foundation survey of employers in 2009 found that the average premium for employer-provided family policies was $13,375.  This is the kind of policy that ObamaCare is expected to mandate, when the bureaucrats come forth with their mandates.  This is 26% of the median household income of $52,000.  ObamaCare will provide some subsidies for incomes up to $88,000, but this is still a massive tax on many earning less than $88,000 and the subsidy cost will be shifted to everyone making more than $88,000 and fall back in increased prices for all goods and services upon those who are subsidized as well.  The new tax on a family with a household income of $88,000 will be 15.2%!

It gets worse.  The Arizona Republic said in July that "State and university employees with families can expect to see their monthly health insurance costs rise as much as 37% next year."  The reason for the increase is ObamaCare!  If this kind of severe health insurance premium increase continues into 2014 when ObamaCare requires everyone to purchase the federally mandated health insurance policies, then this tax upon the People will be the most gigantic tax ever in the history of the United States!  Obama and the Democrat Congress have foisted the highest tax increase in our history upon us in a law most Americans clearly opposed then and continue to oppose today.

Throw these tyrannical bums out of office as a matter of self-preservation!  Meanwhile, we must hope the federal courts have enough sense to declare ObamaCare unconstitutional.  It clearly is.