United Liberty

From the latest Rasmussen Reports poll:

Fifty percent (50%) of U.S. voters say they are less likely to vote for their representative in Congress this November if he or she votes for the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken Wednesday night finds that 34% are more likely to vote for their Congress member’s reelection if he or she supports the president’s health care plan. Eight percent (8%) say the health care vote will have no impact on how they vote this November, and another seven percent (7%) are not sure.

Thirty-three percent (33%) of all voters favor the creation of a single-payer health care system where the federal government provides coverage for everyone. Fifty-four percent (54%) oppose such a system. These findings are unchanged from the end of last year. Support for a single-payer system plays a huge role in whether someone will support a Representative who votes for the health care plan.

Sixty-six percent (66%) of those who favor a single-payer system are more likely to vote for a member of Congress who votes for the health care plan. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of those who oppose a single-payer system are less likely to vote for a health care plan supporter.

With every Republican in Congress opposed to the health care plan, it’s not surprising to find that 79% of GOP voters are less likely to vote for someone who supports it. Fifty-five percent (55%) of Democrats, on the other hand, are more likely to vote for a member of Congress who votes for the plan.

Yesterday, our friends at the Cato Institute hosted a panel dealing with conservatism and war, moderated by Grover Norquist with Rep. Tom McClintock, Rep. John Duncan and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher on the panel.

It’s refreshing to hear conservative Republicans, outside of Rep. Ron Paul, talk about the mistake of going to war in Iraq:

Virginia Congressman Tom Perriello was more candid than most of his collegues during a recent meeting with constituents:

Truer words were never spoken.

According to conservative activist Debbie Schlussel, an overwhelming amount of the revenues from the annual concerts promoted by talk show host Sean Hannity to help families of fallen soldiers are going to pay overhead and other expenses:

[L]ess than 20%–and in two recent years, less than 7% and 4%, respectively–of the money raised by Freedom Alliance went to these causes, while millions of dollars went to expenses, including consultants and apparently to ferret the Hannity posse of family and friends in high style. And, despite Hannity’s statements to the contrary on his nationally syndicated radio show, few of the children of fallen soldiers got more than $1,000-$2,000, with apparently none getting more than $6,000, while Freedom Alliance appears to have spent tens of thousands of dollars for private planes. Moreover, despite written assurances to donors that all money raised would go directly to scholarships for kids of the fallen heroes and not to expenses, has begun charging expenses of nearly $500,000 to give out just over $800,000 in scholarships.
[…]
According to its 2006 tax returns, Freedom Alliance reported revenue of $10, 822, 785, but only $397,900–or a beyond-measly 3.68%–of that was given to the children of fallen troops as scholarships or as aid to severely injured soldiers.

I found this post from President Obama’s Twitter feed to be particularly bizarre:

#iamherefor my mother, and all the Americans who are forced to spend time arguing w/ insurance companies instead of focusing on getting well

What about the parents who forced to spend time arguing with unionized public school bureaucrats instead of sending their kids to a decent school?

The Democratic Senate voted recently to make sure D.C. area families will stay in that frustrating situation and to take away a chance at controlling their own lives.

Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a preliminary score of ObamaCare that shows an estimated cost of $945 billion over the next 10 years (text of the reconciliation bill was posted online, as well). The CBO also estimates that the legislation will result in deficit reduction of $138 billion over the same period of time. The report also indicates that 98% of the spending in the bill in the first decade comes in the last six years.

Because the estimate came in under $1 trillion, House Democratic leaders feel this helps their cause. Of course, the reason it comes in under $1 trillion is because Democrats tweeked the excise tax on health insurance plans. The legislation is also missing the $300 billion doc fix, which will come out separately.”

Also, it’s important to remember that the CBO score wasn’t a final analysis of the bill if you actually read it (emphasis mine):

Kucinich flew to his own district on Airforce One with President Obama.  I wonder the how President convinced him to vote for the healthcare bill.

With ObamaCare dominating the news and blogs this week, you may think that it’s the biggest issue on the minds of Americans. You’d be wrong.

Gallup finds that jobs and economy are our top concerns:

The poll also finds that in the long-term, Americans are more worried about budget deficits and the economy than health care.

If you were a policymaker tasked with running a school system with one of the lowest achievement rates in the country, and someone came along and offered an idea with proven results that costs less, would you give that person the time of day? (We can only hope.)

In their second installment of Reason Saves Cleveland, Nick Gillespie examines Cleveland’s dysfunctional school system, and show methods around the country that actually work.

As Reason explains, “Cleveland’s public schools are failing to prepare students for their futures and as a result, all parents who can afford to have been fleeing to the suburbs for decades. Within Cleveland’s own boundaries, charter schools are booming and delivering quality education at a fraction of the cost of traditional public schools. Does Cleveland have what it takes to fundamentally reform its K-12 education system and become a leader in 21st-century education?”

For the sake of all those children who did not choose to be born into poverty, let us hope it does. Watch: