Here comes the MONEY$$$

[jeb]

"Less than 48 hours ago, the biggest corporations in the country declared war on President Obama's agenda. The scale of the attack is mind-boggling.

The right-wing lobbyists at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will spend $100 million to defeat Obama's plans for health care and a clean energy economy. They call it their "most important project" in nearly 100 years."

This is not a Republican or Democrat or right wing vs left wing issue - well, except for the fact that a segment of the Republican Right is automatically against anything anyone else is for.

You knew this was coming - it was just a matter of time before the major American AND FOREIGN corporations turn their bank accounts loose on DC. That time is now.

Now, it is time for you to get off your rear and let those in DC and on the State level know that the time of selling their votes is over - it is time to do what is right for the people. (Don't hold your breath, however!)

For far to many on both the right and the left this will very hard for them to understand but let them know that they will pay at the polls later for their actions now.

- JB

[JRScott]

I don't think the cap and trade will work and I've been opposed to it completely.

The problem is we do need to be energy independent, cap and trade won't get us there. What we need is for people like Sen. Ted Kennedy to stop blocking windfarms off the coast of MA, and environmentalist to stop opposing solar farms in the American SW deserts. We need folks to realize that if we are going to be energy independent we will have to make sacrifices. We will have to sacrifice some of our views for windmills and possible some migratory birds that are to dumb to avoid them, we will have to sacrifice some desert space and possibly some habitat of the desert turtle for solar power, we will have to sacrifice some of our coastal areas for wave generation plants making some areas off limits to swimming and boating, we will have to allow nuclear power plants to be built despite the small risk of harmful radiation (no accident in the USA in 30 years), and we will have to seek out exploration of our God given resources of natural gas and oil that environmentalist have continually sought to prevent us from achieving. This is what I meant by hard choices that Congress and the President are not willing to make. Cap and Trade will only further erode our national economy.

National Health Care is simply something we cannot afford as currently proposed by the Obama Administration and Congress. If you want to lower health care costs you need to tackle the primary reason costs are high and that is malpractice insurance. We cannot keep allowing payouts to exceed what a person could reasonably have earned in their lifetimes. Death is unfortunate, but with these multimillion and billion dollar payouts we drive up the cost of medical care for everyone as Doctors have to pass this on to the customers. Some of these errors made in medical fields are caused by overworked doctors and nurses due to shortages of both in some fields and areas. We should perhaps offer a scholarship or other incentive to get more folks to go into these fields in order to fill the need thus lowering hours worked and having fresh minds and hands on the problem. The final major cost is pharmaceuticals. On average the large oil companies make around a 7% profit every year which is in keeping with most industries, pharmaceuticals though make around a 26% average profit yearly. That is unreasonable. If you can do these three things, within 5 years medical costs would start to come down or more align with what folks can afford, it is not a problem that can be solved in 1 years time or with one bill spending more money than we have now.

[Kansas1960]

I hope Obama gets everything he wants so the country will know once and for all big government, rewarding the lazy while stealing from the workers fails just like it has always done. After we get through this 70's or worse inflation soon coming we will be ready for smaller government. It is just so funny that the hippy 60's generation that was so anti government has now become eco freako progressives bent on controlling every aspect of our life and stiffling our individual creativity. It will take the next generation to kick out of power the freaky California-Vermont-Seattle left winger non God believing Socialist out of power. In the mean time I will collect all I can from the government. I will refuse to work overtime to pay for this new society the oppressive Obama regime is bringing. I am ready for free health care, hope all you that voted for this ready. Loving every minute of it. Oh, and now that the Unions mostly own government motors lets see what happens now.

[kenshirley]

Do you have any idea of how much money their is in the medical industry.
That's a small price for the corporate giants that make the money to pay to keep controls on the way they have it.

[JRScott]

I agree Ken, that's where Congress and the President have to stop listening to lobbyist and do what is right even if it is short term unpopular.

[jeb]

The problems are complex and do not lend themselves to simple solutions - therefore, it is all but impossible to get agreement on how to fix them.

But until we get big time money out of politics we will continue to have big corps running our country - just as they have for my lifetime, and I am not a youngster.

We need all of the different sources of energy at present but as we move forward we need to completely replace carbon based fuels. This can be done without harming our environment but too many environmentalist won't give an inch. They have learned the hard way that giving an inch means they will lose miles before it is over.

This reasoning is the same as the gun nuts use as well.

No one in there right mind would think it is OK for their neighbor next door having some of the weapons that can be fired in their house and kill someone 5 houses down and can be bought by anyone, any time but they fear that by banning assault weapons they will end up losing all their weapons. (I hope they never see what I have - my Grandfathers guns, my Dads guns, my guns, loading equipment, etc - they will think I am outfitting for a war. But I will vote in a heartbeat to ban assault type weapons.)

For the first time in my life we have a window of opportunity to clean up some of the mess we have made of our country - an all to small window.

President Obama still has the support of a large majority of the people which, after all that the Party of No, the Party of Fear, the Party of Hate keeps putting out is amazing in and of itself. This support must be used effectively to pass some controls to prevent another economic crash and to rein in the abuses that have been rampart in our country. Corporations have proven that without controls they can not regulate themselves and the goal of the all mighty dollar will rule out over anything.

But if the real Republicans sit back and let the far right neocons control their party and allow this group to control the elected Republican officials to keep blocking anything and everything someone else suggest, little is going to be done.

It is time everyone in the country - individuals, corporations and politicians - came together to do what is in the long term good for the people, the country and the world and not what is in the short term good for them, their profits or their party. - jb

[Kansas1960]

The Republicans are almost as bad as the Democrats. Yes, big business will win, they don't want to supply health care to employees, they want the governent to do it.

[JRScott]

Obama and the Democrats have used fearmongering to pass their own agendas since they took office. He does personally remain popular, but the Congressional Democrats as well as Obama's own policies are taking a hit in the polls.

I do believe congressional term limits, allowing Senators to only raise funds from their state, Representatives to only raise funds from their district, the disallowing of the RNC, DNC and similar organizations from funneling money to those running for office (if you can't raise the money in your own district or state you have no business representing the people of that district or state), the banning of hiring family into offices that you oversee by direct supervision or through committee, and the barring of former Congressman from serving as lobbyist for at least as long as they served in Congress are all essential and necessary changes that are needed to reign in the runaway government and restore power to the people.

I'd support the repeal of the 17th Amendment to to restore the balance back between federal and state power. I also believe the 16th Amendment needs to be repealed. What we really need is for the state's to call for a Constitutional Convention. If 2/3rds of the states petition congress for a Constitutional Convention, then Congress by the Constitution has to call for one. Such a Convention avoids the necessity of the Congress approving the amendments leaving it only to the states.

[jeb]

Obama and the Democrats have used fear mongering to pass their own agendas since they took office. He does personally remain popular, but the Congressional Democrats as well as Obama's own policies are taking a hit in the polls.

I do believe congressional term limits, allowing Senators to only raise funds from their state, Representatives to only raise funds from their district, the disallowing of the RNC, DNC and similar organizations from funneling money to those running for office (if you can't raise the money in your own district or state you have no business representing the people of that district or state), the banning of hiring family into offices that you oversee by direct supervision or through committee, and the barring of former Congressman from serving as lobbyist for at least as long as they served in Congress are all essential and necessary changes that are needed to reign in the runaway government and restore power to the people.

I'd support the repeal of the 17th Amendment to to restore the balance back between federal and state power. I also believe the 16th Amendment needs to be repealed. What we really need is for the state's to call for a Constitutional Convention. If 2/3rds of the states petition congress for a Constitutional Convention, then Congress by the Constitution has to call for one. Such a Convention avoids the necessity of the Congress approving the amendments leaving it only to the states.

I would need your definition of "fear mongering" as I have seen nothing that even comes close to what the Republican Hypocrites have done over the last 10 years.

I would support much of what you point out in the second paragraph but would have to spend a lot of time understanding the ramifications of repealing the different Amendments of your third paragraph. - jb

[JRScott]

Well jeb didn't the Democratically controlled congress and President ram through a bill that had to be done, that no one read, that they didn't write in less than 24 hours because if they didn't they claimed it would be ruinous. Now 4 months later less than 5% of that money has been spent that was suppose to be shovel ready programs.

He's taking the same tone with this National Health Care, they want to ram it through before the August recess. Obama himself has said Now or Never, as if Congress and the President couldn't take it up at a later date if it wasn't passed immediately. That's fearmongering. Keep in mind a national health care system that they are proposing in some cases of basically covering everyone would cost around 2-3 trillion a year, not what they are claiming. The other way they are leaning requiring all companies to offer health insurance or pay higher taxes will mean fewer jobs as small businesses cannot afford the costs of insurance in many cases, and their employees also generally cannot. Some of the proposals want to give government health care to people making over a hundred thousand a year, which is crazy. If you are making the average pay or higher of your state you can afford health insurance if you so choose.

Repealing the 17th Amendment restores the original method for electing Senators. Originally Senators were not elected by popular vote they were elected by the legislatures of the various states. This gave the legislatures the ability to also recall the Senators or demand an accounting of their votes which the current system does not allow, which is why Washington and its lobbyist have become so much more powerful. It was originally passed because they thought it would end corruption but instead as we've seen it has only made it worse even to the point that the people of a state have little choice in who represents them since the majority of monies come from interests outside their states.

The repeal of the 16th Amendment would end the Federal Income Tax. This would force the Federal Government to return to the more traditional tax revenue sources of tariffs thus creating a more even playing field for our domestic corporations. The tax would also have to be apportioned to each state by population.

[lrprn]

Well jeb didn't the Democratically controlled congress and President ram through a bill that had to be done, that no one read, that they didn't write in less than 24 hours because if they didn't they claimed it would be ruinous.

Ummmmm.....I believe you are perfectly describing the previous Republican president's Oct 08 stimulus bill that did the first ramming-through with no reading with absolutely no indication of where the money was actually going and with no restrictions at all.

At least the Feb 09 stimulus bill indicated where the money was actually going and had restrictions placed on when banks and financial institutions could do with the money they took. Why do you think the banks are now scrambling to pay the billions now that they took to stay afloat back to the government? They can't wait to get out from under the very minimal restrictions imposed and get back to fully screwing us all yet again.

[jeb]

Well jeb didn't the Democratically controlled congress and President ram through a bill that had to be done, that no one read, that they didn't write in less than 24 hours because if they didn't they claimed it would be ruinous. Now 4 months later less than 5% of that money has been spent that was suppose to be shovel ready programs.

He's taking the same tone with this National Health Care, they want to ram it through before the August recess. Obama himself has said Now or Never, as if Congress and the President couldn't take it up at a later date if it wasn't passed immediately. That's fearmongering. Keep in mind a national health care system that they are proposing in some cases of basically covering everyone would cost around 2-3 trillion a year, not what they are claiming. The other way they are leaning requiring all companies to offer health insurance or pay higher taxes will mean fewer jobs as small businesses cannot afford the costs of insurance in many cases, and their employees also generally cannot. Some of the proposals want to give government health care to people making over a hundred thousand a year, which is crazy. If you are making the average pay or higher of your state you can afford health insurance if you so choose.

Repealing the 17th Amendment restores the original method for electing Senators. Originally Senators were not elected by popular vote they were elected by the legislatures of the various states. This gave the legislatures the ability to also recall the Senators or demand an accounting of their votes which the current system does not allow, which is why Washington and its lobbyist have become so much more powerful. It was originally passed because they thought it would end corruption but instead as we've seen it has only made it worse even to the point that the people of a state have little choice in who represents them since the majority of monies come from interests outside their states.

The repeal of the 16th Amendment would end the Federal Income Tax. This would force the Federal Government to return to the more traditional tax revenue sources of tariffs thus creating a more even playing field for our domestic corporations. The tax would also have to be apportioned to each state by population.

Irprn has it right - the only "ramming" was done by the Chaney/Bush team - but, hey, this is not the first time Republicans have had a short memory when I comes to what they did.

It would seem that the 17th amendment did, indeed, make it easier to buy votes but changing it back would just move where the money goes. The solution is to get the money out of politics. I see only one way to make a dent in it. A corporation is considered an "individual" under law - if this is so, why can we not put the same restrictions on a corporations money given to an elected official as a single individual has?

We certainly need some tax reform but your suggestion is like so many others out there - not realistic. As long as the people want services the government has to get is somewhere. We, the people, just don't want to pay for what we want.

I would be happy with a properly structured flat tax - I would be very happy to pay the same % of tax as the rich and large corps do - - the REAL % they pay, not what they are suppose to pay. There was a time in my life where I made very good money yet paid very little in taxes. When you are in the higher tax brackets you are able to take advantage of the many loopholes out there. And the loopholes the largest corps in the world have bought and paid for over the years mean they pay very little in real dollars each year. - jb

[JRScott]

Umm it wasn't just Bush/Cheney, Obama and Pelosi and them rammed a bill through in February their stimulus package. The Feb 09 package is the one I'm referring to, it had laughable oversight just like the first. Anyone that believes its being looked after in any better way than the previous stimulus needs to keep in mind the guy in charge of that oversight Timothy Geithner was also the main architect of the previous Bush/Cheney stimulus. The same guy who failed to foresee the disasters coming while he was the head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank for almost 5 years before the collapse started.

You see what you don't realize is a lot of the Obama/Biden team is people that also worked for Bush/Cheney, there was no real change.

That Feb 09 budget was passed in 17 hours after it was written where no one in the congress had even read the bill, more less written it. It was suppose to be shovel ready projects that would get done immediately, now 4 months later those shovel ready projects only 5% have been spent, which to me tells me they weren't shovel ready.

Keep in mind I'm not a Republican or Democrat, never have been, and I was just as critical of Bush/Cheney's spending as I have been of Obama/Biden's. You guys should understand the danger of this spending, like me you've had bankruptcies, this is not sustainable even in the short term. It will lead to the loss of the USAs AAA rating (they are already threatening to take the UKs), which will lead to higher interest rates not only for the government but everyone.

The best solution is to stop the spending now, we can't afford it. In North Carolina we show a 20% loss in revenue from a year ago. Our Legislature is working on the budget and it includes steep cuts in all areas. The tax increases are relatively modest considering what was originally proposed, but they've realized they can't keep spending all this money. It's time the Federal Government realized the same thing.

[jeb]

JR, the reason NC and other states are looking at steep cuts is because of the serious drop in tax income - a lot of it from the housing crash but also in sales tax, which is directly affected by how much money people have to spend.

With the high number of people out of a job, sales are taking a beating.

But we can only guess what the unemployment numbers would be if President Obama and the Democrats - with virtually nothing but resistance from the Party of No - had not flooded the country with Federal dollars. Thankfully, we can only guess - but except for those of the political right, virtually everyone in the know tell us that it kept us out of a serious depression.

Will we take a short term hit in the cost of the dollar and interest rates - yes? But we will bounce back far, far faster than if we had gone into a depression. It is sad that one party has decided - again - that they will do what they think is right for them and not what is right for not only the US, but the world.

Thank God we had a man like Obama at this time in our life - history will show that the bold steps he has taken in very difficult times has were steps that had to be done.

I use to be a Republican and do believe in the supposed believes of the party but I can no longer support the party. The the half truths, the distortions, the flat out lies and the dirty politics are more than I can accept.

One of the Great Leaders of the Republican Party has been on national TV ever since the Presidents speech in Cairo saying that the President said every country has the right to a nuclear bomb. This man KNOWS that what was said was that every country has the right to nuclear energy but no country should have nuclear bombs, including us.

But he said it - KNOWING it was wrong - to make political points with his base. And that is the problem - there are far, far too many politicians, on all sides, who will say anything - knowing it is wrong - to make political points.

It is time to get these people OUT of politics. - jb

[JRScott]

The Unemployment numbers have already exceeded their projections jeb.

I'm gonna be honest with you, the 5% of monies spent has had no effect on the economy. The shovel ready projects were just words, fancy words to make you feel good about a spending package that had less to do with job creation than to just pay back a bunch of political contributors.

There are no permanent jobs in that stimulus package even if they had spent 100% of the funds. In fact some of the initiatives would actually lead to long term job loss rather than job creation.

Stop listening to the hype, the R do not have a monopoly on that, the D are just as bad for it. That stimulus package has done nothing to help the economy to date and indeed based on the spending plan proposed would not have any major effect til 2011 and 2012....which oddly enough is an election year. Oh wait that wasn't oddly enough, its just so the Democrats can have some good spin during the election cycle, that is if the collapse of the credit card, student loan and possibly hitting the wall of unfunded liabilities doesn't kill em first.

Obama is a fraud. He is the worst sort of politician, he wants to tell you what he thinks you want to hear. He has good pollsters that help him tailor his speeches to the audience present. He likes to use buzzwords and phrases. Many of his R opponents are largely the same, so are most of the D. However his armor is starting to crack because you can't please all the people all the time. That's where Obama and Bush differ a great deal, Bush made decisions based upon what he thought was right, he didn't care what people thought of him, that's why he didn't spend any time fighting the news media etc which is what largely hurt his public image. That's the problem with the Federal Government, we have a President and a Congress more concerned with their public image and getting re elected than making any hard decision. It is not limited to one political party or the other, it is not limited by ideology.

Bush made a lot of mistakes, one was invading Iraq, I never agreed with that decision. However what is done is done, he made what he thought was the right choice, and the American people sent him back for a 2nd term. I always thought well of Sen. John Kerry after the 2004 election. He had just as much cause to challenge the elections in Ohio and a few other states as Bush had in 2000 for Florida. However Kerry chose the better path for a nation and realized that these things should not be tied up in court so he did not pursue it.

As a nation we need to stop thinking in terms of R and D. Both parties are so inclusive that they really stand for nothing. There are people of all walks and philosophies in both of these parties. That is why they mirror each other so much in many ways. That's why there was so little difference really between Obama and McCain. I'm not talking about the public image, but if you go and look at both mens voting records of the 2 years prior to 2008, then they are very similar. We should have at least 50 parties in this country, one for each of the states, and then each state should at minimum have at least 1 opposition party. Washington warned us of these days and we would have been wise to have listened to him.