The Political Fish

This is the completion of the Sunday Nancy Pelosi triad of stupidity.

As she made her rounds on the Sunday talk circuit, this time Madame Speaker drops a gem on us from CNN’s “State of the Union”. The Hill.com reported:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday that Republicans have left their mark on the healthcare bill and should accept that the bill will go forward.

“They’ve had plenty of opportunity to make their voices heard,” she said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday morning. “Bipartisanship is a two-way street. A bill can be bipartisan without bipartisan votes. Republicans have left their imprint.”

Ok, its possible that I am just a political novice, or even just completely stupid myself, but that is complete drivel rolling off the lips of the third in line to the Presidency. Four years ago, when the Democrats took control of the Congress and the position of Speaker was handed off to Nancy Pelosi, it was a monumental moment for women in America. The Speaker of the House was a woman. We all cheered. It was terrific.

X Chromosomes have now been made to look  inept thanks to Speaker Pelosi.  

I’m sorry, im not sexist…I believe women should rise to whatever position their qualifications allow but this woman has done the womens movement no justice at all.

Bipartisanship is quite a simple philosophy really. Two parties work together to craft a piece of legislation out of compromise and competing ideologies. Likely members of both sides will vote in favor, both sides will vote against.

Removing the GOP from the process of healthcare reform because you CAN does not mean bipartisan. Removing elements from the bill because you had to save the jobs of members from the Democratic caucus is partisan. If those members were from the GOP…it would be bi-partisan.

Nancy, I hope this helped.

Madame Speaker is full of tidbits today from her interview with Elizabeth Vargas on “This Week”.

Speaker Pelosi, in a tacit admission that she knows this bill is wildly unpopular with the American people, called for her Democrat colleagues to sacrifice their careers to get the ObamaScare disaster passed. I suppose this would be a call to legislative kamikaze tactics, which should worry the American people. It also clarifies what we have known all along that this bill is ideologically driven, and not driven by the needs of our country or the desires of the citizenry.

Thanks for clarifying Nan… check out her own words (skip ahead to the 2:50 mark if you cannot stomach the entire interview)

From the AP

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged her colleagues to back a major overhaul of U.S. health care even if it threatens their political careers, a call to arms that underscores the issue’s massive role in this election year.

Lawmakers sometimes must enact policies that, even if unpopular at the moment, will help the public, Pelosi said in an interview being broadcast Sunday the ABC News program “This Week.”
“We’re not here just to self-perpetuate our service in Congress,” she said. “We’re here to do the job for the American people.”

It took courage for Congress to pass Social Security and Medicare, which eventually became highly popular, she said, “and many of the same forces that were at work decades ago are at work again against this bill.”

Flip Flop

I guess this is what happens when you get that sweet taste of absolute power on your lips. Your beliefs no longer matter when it fits your own purposes, and that is what we have here. President Obama back in 2005 (along with many other Senate Dem’s at the forefront of the healthcare debate) brought strong language against the Senate Republicans (the majority at the time) who had threatened to use reconciliation as a means to pass their agenda.

NO NO NO…you can’t do that!!!

Oh my what a difference a few years makes. Here is the blatant hypocrisy from the lips of Dear Leader Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer among others. Watch this all the way through. It’s precious material.

From Breitbart.tv

Joe Biden had by far one of the best quotes of them all.

Biden: “I pray God when the Democrats take back control we don’t make the kind of naked power grab you are doing

Like I say, in just a few short years..the leaders of this administration have sold their soul for a naked power grab of 1/6 of the US economy.

Shameless tyrants.

*picking myself up off the floor*

I actually was shocked to hear someone, anyone really, from inside the beltway articulate what the American people have been saying very loudly for the past 8 months during this healthcare debate.

Washington cannot fix it all. Washington CAN however create a competitive atmosphere for the free market…and THAT will fix it all.

Listen to Congressman Ryan explain, he does it much better than I ever could.

I do believe he sucked all of the air right out of the room.

Note: "I'm leaving Washington because of excessive partisanship" is political-talk for "I'm going to lose in a landslide and I want to get out now."

From the Associated Press:

Media reports say that Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana has decided to not seek re-election.
The Indianapolis Star reports that Bayh is attributing his decision to excessive partisanship that makes progress on public policy difficult to achieve as the motivation for his decision.
Bayh scheduled a Monday afternoon news conference in Indianapolis. The Associated Press left messages seeking comment at his Senate office and for state Democratic chairman Dan Parker, who is Bayh’s  campaign manager.

This is huge for the Republicans and their bid to win back the majority.  The folks at fivethirtyeight.com had Bayh’s seat as the ninth-most likely to change parties this November.   After all, Bayh is quite popular in his home state; he has faced re-election from the voters three times and has claimed at least 62.0% in each of them.

The question is, who will the Republicans trot out as their Senate candidate?  Some believe that Rep. Mike Pence, who I mentioned as a 2012 Presidential Hopeful, could be that candidate.

From the AP:

A spokesman says Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a retired Marine Corps officer who became an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, has died. He was 77.
He had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery.
In 1974, Murtha became the first combat veteran of the Vietnam War elected to Congress. He wielded considerable clout for two decades as a leader of the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon  spending. But frustration over the Iraq war led him to call for an immediate pullout of U.S. troops in 2005.
Murtha’s congressional career was clouded by questions about his ethics – from the Abscam corruption probe in 1980 to more recent investigations into the special-interest spending known as earmarks and the raising of cash for election campaigns.

The thoughts and prayers of The Political Fish go out to his family.

Ahhh, the State of the Union address. The time in the political calendar in which we witness politicians falling in love with themselves all over again, year after year. There is so much to take away from last nights speech, but lets start with what has been sticking in my craw, and actually pulled me up out of my chair when it happened.

It was amazingly childish. It was awash in the hyper-partisan aura that dominated the entire evening. Frankly, it discarded the decorum of the evening, and was an act beneath the dignity of the United States President addressing the state of our union. In my time following politics, I have not yet seen something as brazen, but then again for a man who cannot seem to recognize the gravity and the duty and dignity of the office he holds, it came as no real surprise.

It was the blatant calling out of the Supreme Court in the middle of the speech, launching a political bomb at the Court as they sat stony faced in the front row. Politicization of the Court is beneath a President who has been lecturing throughout the evening on the need to discard the politicization of issues in Washington, and work on behalf of the American people. The reaction of the Democrat caucus was even more comical disgraceful, as clearly can be seen in the video. Chuck Schumer exhibits a particular lack of decency as he is almost giving an in your face to the Justices sitting nearest to him, clapping like a seal on the rocks.

From Politico

POLITICO’s Kasie Hunt, who’s in the House chamber, reports that Justice Samuel Alito mouthed the words “not true” when President Barack Obama criticized the Supreme Court’s campaign finance decision.

“Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections,” Obama said. “Well I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that’s why I’m urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong.”

The shot of the black-robed Supreme Court justices, stone-faced, was priceless.

Oh but wait. We have come to this address to the nation’s version of the Joe Wilson “YOU LIE” moment. Justice Alito, who clearly was not particularly impressed with the Presidents hutzpah, gave a reaction that has set the political world on fire today. Check out the video here.

Well, it wasn’t quite a “You Lie” moment, but it was however a “that’s not true” moment for Justice Samuel Alito, who voted with the majority in the 5-4 decision which struck down elements of the McCain/Feingold campaign finance law.

Again, we see the President lying to the American people, using scare tactics to bully his point across, blatantly telling falsehoods to the elation of his parties caucus. As a constitutional attorney, it is almost comical that he did not seem to research out the decision as it was given, neither reading the majority opinion or the dissenting opinion. It was obvious. Even the most novice of us who follow the Washington game can recognize his failure to educate himself on an issue explicitly put in his speech to attempt to discredit the Court and score cheap political points.  For a more detailed analysis, Bradley Smith, who is a distinguished professor of law at the Capital University Law School weighed in on the subject in the Corner, the blog for the National Review.  Emphasis mine.

Tonight the president engaged in demogoguery of the worst kind, when he claimed that last week’s Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC, “open[ed] the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections. Well I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities.”

The president’s statement is false.

The Court held that 2 U.S.C. Section 441a, which prohibits all corporate political spending, is unconstitutional. Foreign nationals, specifically defined to include foreign corporations, are prohibiting from making “a contribution or donation of money or ather thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State or local election” under 2 U.S.C. Section 441e, which was not at issue in the case. Foreign corporations are also prohibited, under 2 U.S.C. 441e, from making any contribution or donation to any committee of any political party, and they prohibited from making any “expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement for an electioneering communication.”

This is either blithering ignorance of the law or demagoguery of the worst kind

Of course, the Democrat caucus loved it. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) commented afterward to Politico.

“He [Alito] deserved to be criticized, if he didn’t like it he can mouth whatever they want,” Weiner said. “These Supreme Court justices sometimes forget that we live in the real world. They got a real world reminder tonight, if you make a boneheaded decision, someone’s going to call you out on it.”

This actually goes to show the irony of the last name of the honorable representative from New York. The President never mentioned Alito, who in fact did not even write the majority opinion in the case. However, it is good to see that the Democrats have decided to wage war on the Supreme Court. Justice Alito would eat the lunch of any and all on the issue at hand, as he heard the case, researched the case, and adjudicated on the matter. This is not a debate that the Dem’s should try to engage in, it is one they cannot win and one that would make them look silly. But, Weiner apparently wants to make a showcase of the Alito reaction. It won’t play well Congressman.

Randy Barnett from the Georgetown University School of law weighs in.

In the history of the State of the Union has any President ever called out the Supreme Court by name, and egged on the Congress to jeer a Supreme Court decision, while the Justices were seated politely before him surrounded by hundreds Congressmen? To call upon the Congress to countermand (somehow) by statute a constitutional decision, indeed a decision applying the First Amendment? What can this possibly accomplish besides alienating Justice Kennedy who wrote the opinion being attacked. Contrary to what we heard during the last administration, the Court may certainly be the object of presidential criticism without posing any threat to its independence. But this was a truly shocking lack of decorum and disrespect towards the Supreme Court for which an apology is in order. A new tone indeed.

I haven’t been able to find much in favor of Obama’s decision to throw a political grenade at the court. Even the hyper liberal WH mouthpiece NY Times offered up analysis in its blog condemning the decision and the statement, deriding the Presidents clear lack of knowledge on the subject that he wanted to make a point on.

I will have more on the State of the Union address throughout the day, but I felt like I needed to get this one off my chest first. For a general roundup, go here.

Or Check out some of these.

 http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2010/01/video-justice-alito-corrects-constitutional-scholar-prez.html

http://hotair.com/archives/2010/01/27/not-true-alito-mouths-words-as-obama-hammers-supreme-court/

Socialist Labor union leader Andy Stern, a frequent visitor to the White House, issued a veiled threat to Washington this week. Stern, the head of the SEIU labor union, stated that the unions might “have some difficulty staying focused on national politics” if the Obama administration does not ram through the health care bill as is, including of course the sweetheart deal for the unions and their “Cadillac plans“.

PlumLine reports:

SEIU chief Andy Stern took a hard shot at Dem leaders just now for considering a scaled-down health care bill, strongly hinting that labor might not work as hard for Dem candidates in 2010 if they failed to deliver real and comprehensive reform.

“It’s gonna be incredibly difficult to stay focused on national politics if by the end of 2010 we have minimal health care and minimal changes on what’s important to our members,” he said in an interview, ridiculing the emerging Dem approach as “fear masquerading as a strategy.”

Stern unloaded on Dem leaders in resonse to reports today that they’re mulling either a scaled down bill to win GOPers or a broken up bill passed in pieces. His anger suggests Dems risk paying a big price with labor if they fail to figure out how to pass the Senate bill and fix it later, as labor wants.

Stern hinted that if House and Senate members don’t move forward with the Senate bill and some kind of fix, they could see union members spending more time on races for governor, perhaps at the expense of their reelection campaigns. “If something significant doesn’t happen in Congress, I hope the legislators appreciate that there are 37 governors races important to our members,” Stern said suggestively.

Ahh, the scorned lover. We have long known that Obama and his secretive administration have been in bed with the SEIU and other labor unions, but now the it seems the Unions have found themselves in the position of the jilted lover. They have been let down by the election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts, and can see the writing on the wall that they will not get their big government socialist bill that they had hoped for all along.

Will Obama continue to cave to the Unions?? We will have to wait and see, but it appears we have gotten a preview yesterday in Ohio.

Yes…Obama is tone deaf.

Has it really been one year?

Sure, we all remember President Obama’s inauguration. Two million people crowded the National Mall, he placed his hand on the Bible, Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed the oath of office, Dick Cheney looked like Mr. Potter from It’s A Wonderful Life, Obama gave a speech, and pundits across the radio and television dial hailed the coming of the Golden Age of liberalism.

Let me check my calendar… Yep, that was January 20th, 2009.  One year ago.

So what happened?  Well, let’s recap:

• ECONOMICS – In the middle of the Great Recession, Obama unleashed the $787 Billion stimulus plan.  Obama’s people said without the plan, unemployment would go up to nine percent.  We should consider ourselves to be so lucky.  Conservatives said that the bill would increase unemployment, and sure enough, they were right.  But hey, we did save / create a few jobs in some Congressional districts.  It’s a shame those districts don’t exist.
• FOREIGN POLICY – I suppose Obama’s big Foreign Policy moment came during his speech in Cairo, where he tried to seek common ground with Muslims.  The speech was well-received by both sides of the aisle.  A short time later, Obama showed his support for freedom-seeking Muslims by delivering a rousing speech where he proclaimed that America stood together with the young men and women of Iran who were protesting the sham elections and… oh wait, that last part didn’t happen.  Instead, while Iran was burning, Obama was silent, but at least he did get the chance  to get ice cream.  It wasn’t the first time that ice cream played a part in Obama’s foreign policy, four Gitmo detainees were sent to Bermuda.  And yes, they were allowed to get ice cream.  But no sprinkles!  By the way, the “ice cream diplomacy” should not be confused with the “hot dog diplomacy”, or the infamous beer summit.  Other highlights from Obama’s first year: saying that we would not abandon our missile shield in Poland if Iran continues to pose a threat.  That worked for awhile, until the Russians asked us to change our plans.  We caved to the Russians.  Right after we found out that Iran could build a nuke.
• WAR – I haven’t heard much about it, but I’m pretty sure we’re still in Iraq.  After spending the campaign telling America how George Bush screwed up that war, Obama carried over Bush’s policy.  He also spent the campaign talking about how Afghanistan was the “good” war, then once elected President, he proceeded to dither.  Months after Gen. McChrystal asked for more troops, Obama complied.  Somewhat.  He pledged 30,000 more soldiers, but added a withdrawal date.  In a related note, if the leader of the Taliban said that he was going to train / send more terrorists to reek havoc on the world, but only for 18 months (and then they’d have to stop), wouldn’t it sound like that, I dunno, like he was dealing from a position of weakness?
• TERRORISM – Unfortunately, the terrorists (as a whole), aren’t dealing from a position of weakness.  One-third of the terrorist attacks against Americans occurred in 2009. We saw two attacks on our soil, at Fort Hood and in on a plane above Detroit.  Thankfully, the Detroit bomber was incompetent (much like another would-be terrorist bomber from 40 years ago.  Yes, I went there).  Both incidents happened because America missed the warning signs.  Let us pray Obama can rectify these mistakes in 2010.  As for the “victory over terrorists front”, kudos to Obama for giving the thumbs-up to an operation that rescued kidnapped sea captains from the hands of the Somali pirates.  We sent the right message, and that was the last we had to deal with them.  Oh wait. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t joke about this.  Piracy is no laughing matter.
• HEALTH CARE – And yes, we’ve reached the elephant-in-the-room.  While Americans lacking health insurance is a serious problem, Americans rejected Obama’s solution (e.g., usurping the entire health care system, creating massive new entitlement programs, and basically saddling our great-great-great grandchildren with a debt they could never hope to repay.  And for a more on this disaster of a bill, I refer you to my older brother’s column on the subject.).  Where would Obama be if he didn’t try to usurp one-seventh of our national economy?  Well, for starters, he probably wouldn’t be sitting under 50% in the approval polls.  Second, he probably wouldn’t have lost his filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.  Third, Democrats wouldn’t be quaking in their boots.

So, I suppose that takes us back to today.  January 20th, 2010.  One year ago, Barack Obama entered the presidency with dreams and visions of a New America.  And one day ago, voters from the bluest of blue states got their chance to say they don’t want to be a part of that vision.  Meanwhile, the rest of the country salivates.  On November 2nd, 2010, they’ll get their chance, too.

One of the reasons why our Founding Fathers opposed term limits was because they wanted the Representatives to always be accountable to the people.  They argued that a “lame-duck” Congressman would act in his own best interests, and not those of his constituents, while he waited for his term to expire.  Now, I am in favor of term limits, but I see the point the Founding Fathers were trying to make.

That being said, I was a little disappointed to see that two Democrat Senators, Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut) and Byron Dorgan (D- North Dakota) have decided that they do not want to face the wrath of the voters in 2010.  Pity.

Its the new year everybody, 2010 is upon us.  I’m sure most if not all celebrated the new year in some way, but Congress is going to ruin that celebration. In fact, at the stroke of midnight they did just that. See, the House of Representatives had passed measures that would keep some key tax provisions on the books for another year. Thats a good thing right? Well, unfortunately Harry Reid in his rush to force a Christmas vote on his disasterous healthcare bill failed to address the House’s measure, therefore all of the tax provisions that were set to be extended…well, they all expired at the stroke of midnight.

Grab your wallets everyone. It was either a disasterous oversight on the part of the Senate Majority Leader, or it was a planned oversight designed to continue to follow the progressive mantra of tax and spend. From the Heritage Foundation, here is a brief overview of some of the tax provisions and cuts that have recently expired.

The House has passed legislation (H.R. 4213) that would have extended 63 current tax provisions, but the Senate failed to bring this bill to a vote. Thus, all of these provisions expired at midnight last night. Notable provisions as reported today by Tax Notes include:

• Deduction of state and local general sales taxes (section 164) (Personal Tax Incentives)
• Additional standard deduction, up to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples, for state and local property taxes (section 63) (Personal Tax Incentives)
• Research tax credit and alternative simplified credit (section 41) (General Business Tax Incentives)
• New markets tax credit (section 45D) (Community Assistance Provisions)
• Empowerment zone incentives (sections 1391 and 1202) (Community Assistance Provisions)
• Renewal community tax incentives (sections 1400E, 1400F, 1400I, and 1400J) (Community Assistance Provisions)
• District of Columbia Investment Incentives (sections 1400, 1400A, 1400B, and 1400C) (Community Assistance Provisions)
• Net disaster loss designation and $500 limit per casualty for personal casualty losses attributed to federally declared natural disasters (section 165) (General Disaster Relief Provisions)
• Expensing for qualified disaster expenses (section 198A) (General Disaster Relief Provisions)
• Biodiesel and renewable diesel incentives (section 40A) (Energy Incentives)
• Alternative motor vehicle credit for heavy hybrids (section 30B) (Energy Incentives)

Although the House has acted and passed its version of the Tax Extenders Act of 2009, the Senate failed to act on similar legislation, as a result the following additional key tax provisions will expire:

• Increased exemption levels for the individual alternative minimum tax (section 55) and personal tax credits allowed against the AMT (section 26)
• Exclusion of unemployment compensation benefits from gross income (section 85)
• Alternative fuel mixture tax credit (section 6426(e))
• Reduced estimated tax payments for small businesses (section 6654(d)(1)(D))

The question is, will Harry Reid work quickly when they come back in session to pass legislation that will re-up all of these tax breaks, or will the Democrat controlled Congress continue to stifle small business growth. I won’t be holding my breath. Happy New Year from the United States Senate.

Last Friday, Sarah Palin noted on her facebook page that the Saturday Republican response to Obama’s weekly address would be the health care game changer.

Mark my words – tomorrow is the game changer! Tune in to hear common sense solutions that bury the false accusations that conscientious members of Congress have no solutions to meet America’s health care challenges.

If you’re like me, shaking your head wondering why all the miscommunication between Washington and the American people who have been saying, “Please hear what we’re saying about our desire for health care reform,” then tomorrow will be a refreshing time of clarity for all.

All Americans, and especially colleagues of House Republican Leader John Boehner: please listen to tomorrow’s weekly GOP national address. Rep. Boehner will highlight a common sense alternative to Speaker Pelosi’s 1,990-page government takeover of health care. I urge you to watch for it. For a preview, go to: http://healthcare.gop.gov/

You’ll hear solutions. You’ll hear of real choices based on America’s proven free-market principles. You’ll know once and for all what the GOP and Independents have been saying all along about alternatives to another big government take over. After tomorrow, you’ll know that accusations against the GOP and Independents for not providing solutions are false. Those claims are bogus. There are alternatives. Tune in to Rep. Boehner’s address tomorrow to hear them.

I look forward to the game changer!

- Sarah Palin

From the Republican House website, here are the talking points, which are all good points, just nothing new. No attention grabbers here.

What Americans want are common-sense, responsible solutions that address the rising cost of health care and other major problems. In the national Republican address on Saturday, October 31, 2009, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) discussed Republicans’ plan for common-sense health care reform our nation can afford.  Boehner’s address emphasized four common-sense reforms that will lower health care costs and expand access to quality care without a government takeover of our nation’s health care system that kills jobs, raises taxes on small businesses, or cuts Medicare for seniors:

• Number one: let families and businesses buy health insurance across state lines.
• Number two: allow individuals, small businesses, and trade associations to pool together and acquire health insurance at lower prices, the same way large corporations and labor unions do.
• Number three: give states the tools to create their own innovative reforms that lower health care costs.
• Number four: end junk lawsuits that contribute to higher health care costs by increasing the number of tests and procedures that physicians sometimes order not because they think it’s good medicine, but because they are afraid of being sued.

 

It sure looks that way.

From the Watertown Daily News

Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., was among those who urged Dierdre K. Scozzafava to endorse Democratic congressional candidate William L. Owens, the senator’s spokesman said Saturday.

The spokesman, Maxwell Young, said the senator called a number of north country political leaders after Ms. Scozzafava suspended her campaign and had more than one conversation with the Republican candidate ahead of her announcement. He said the senator also called other Democratic leaders about the situation, including White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

Mr. Owens said he was “honored” by the endorsement.

“Over the course of her career, Dede has always committed to serving the people of Upstate New York before serving a partisan agenda,” he said in a statement. “Now more than ever we need bipartisan solutions to help bring jobs to Upstate New York to get our economy back on track and move our country forward. Those are the kinds of priorities I will fight for in Congress because that’s the kind of leadership Upstate New York needs right now.”

Those in the camp of the Conservative candidate Douglas L. Hoffman called Ms. Scozzafava a turncoat.

“This afternoon Dede Scozzafava betrayed the GOP,“ Senior Communications Advisor Rob Ryan said in a statement. “She endorsed a Pelosi Democrat who will spend more, tax more, and push the liberal agenda that is dragging down this nation.

A bit odd that shortly after endorsing Hoffman, which she did yesterday that she would receive a call from White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and within hours go 180 degrees and endorse the Democrat.

I smell some pay for play. The question is what was she offered.

It is time to make sure Doug Hoffman wins this election. The White House has thrown its hat into the ring, attempting to influence the outcome.  Visit the Hoffman website and see how you can help.

http://www.doughoffmanforcongress.com

Breaking from Fox News:

Republican state Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava has suspended her campaign for upstate New York’s 23rd Congressional seat, giving a possible boost to Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman against Democrat Bill Owens, Fox News has confirmed. 

The move comes on the heels of a new poll that showed Scozzafava had fallen behind her two competitors in a race too close.

The special election is Tuesday and political analysts believe upstate New York is a preview of the races in 2010 and 2012 as Republican leaders struggle to rebuild, redefine and regain control of Washington.

The Siena College poll has Owens picking up 36 percent of the vote, while Hoffman has 35 percent. Scozzafava has 20 percent, with nine percent of voters undecided.

Chalk this one up to a victory for conservatives nationwide. And shame on Newt Gingrich for backing a woman who was clearly a center-left Republican and not representative of the conservative district that she was tapped to represent.

It will now be a two-horse race in the NY-23 district run-off election. Doug Hoffman, the Conservative party candidate, and Bill Owens the Democrat. Most recent polling with Scozzafava still in the race showed a neck and neck affair with Owens at 36%, Hoffman 35% and Scozzafava checking in with 20%.

Doug Hoffman garnered national attention for jumping into the race as a third party candidate after he was passed over in the selection process of the district. He attracted endorsements of many high-profile Republicans nationwide, as well as the teaparty activists who flocked towards upstate New York to lend their support.

This is what the Republican party needs. The big-tent philosophy of this party is what has gotten them into trouble in national elections recently. The base is motivated, and they are conservative.  Conservatives nationwide want to keep this country true to the principles it was founded upon, and this will be the start in retaking what has become an out of control governmental machine.

Now its time to watch the Governors races in New Jersey and Virginia.

Update:

From Newt Gingrich on Twitter:

newtgingrich Scozzafava dropping out leaves hoffman as only anti-tax anti-pelosi vote in ny 23 Every voter opposed to tax increases support doug hoffman11 minutes ago from TwitterBerry

Scozzafava’s statement:

Dear Friends and Supporters:

Throughout the course of my campaign for Congress, I have made the people of the 23rd District and the issues that affect them the focal point of my campaign. As a life long resident of this District, I care deeply and passionately about its people and our way of life. Whether as a candidate for Congress, a State Assemblywoman or a small town Mayor, I have always sought to act with the best interest of our District and its residents in mind—and today I again seek to act for the good of our community.

The opportunity to run as the Republican and Independence Party candidate to represent the 23rd District has been and remains one of the greatest honors of my life. During the past several months, as I’ve traveled the district, meeting and talking with voters about the issues that matter most to them, I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of support I’ve received as I sought to serve as their voice in Washington. However, as Winston Churchill once said, Democracy can be a fickle employer, and the road to public office is not always a smooth one.

In recent days, polls have indicated that my chances of winning this election are not as strong as we would like them to be. The reality that I’ve come to accept is that in today’s political arena, you must be able to back up your message with money—and as I’ve been outspent on both sides, I’ve been unable to effectively address many of the charges that have been made about my record. But as I’ve said from the start of this campaign, this election is not about me, it’s about the people of this District. And, as always, today I will do what I believe serves their interests best.

It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of my supporters to shift their support. Consequently, I hereby release those individuals who have endorsed and supported my campaign to transfer their support as they see fit to do so. I am and have always been a proud Republican. It is my hope that with my actions today, my Party will emerge stronger and our District and our nation can take an important step towards restoring the enduring strength and economic prosperity that has defined us for generations.

On Election Day my name will appear on the ballot, but victory is unlikely. To those who support me – and to those who choose not to – I offer my sincerest thanks.

Dede

1,990 pages worth of legislative garbage.

That is what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave the American people yesterday, wrapped up in some faux-moralistic crusade to help the disenfranchised, working poor who continue to be raped and pillaged by the evil capitalists that run the insurance industry. What she actually gave us is a full blown government takeover of the 16% of the US economy, designed to protect Congressional allies and allow a cradle to grave intrusion by the federal government into the lives of the individual American citizens.

Take this little tidbit that was picked up on by the good people over at BigGovernment.com…this is precious.

Section 2531, entitled “Medical Liability Alternatives,” establishes an incentive program for states to adopt and implement alternatives to medical liability litigation. [But]…… a state is not eligible for the incentive payments if that state puts a law on the books that limits attorneys’ fees or imposes caps on damages.

Give Ms. Pelosi some credit, she throws in quite the pump fake on the tort reform issue. There will be an incentive program established for states to adopt alternatives to medical litigation, aka tort lawsuits. However, what the states cannot implement is a system that would limit lawyer fees in said cases, or limit caps on the damages imposed through these lawsuits. So basically, come up with another solution for tort reform, and we will reward you with a federal incentive, BUT….stay away from the root of the problem. And all the trial lawyers said….AMEN!!!

You might recall this summer, when Governor Howard Dean spoke up at a townhall meeting with Representative Jim Moran (D-VA). He spoke plain truth to the issue of tort reform, roll the tape.

The honesty of Gov. Dean must be applauded. They offer up a fake version of tort reform to the bill, one that won’t address the problem. Most industry analysts agree that reforming this part of the industry would greatly reduce costs, as is the stated goal of this reform right? So we will give some lip-service to the idea of tort reform, but still have to protect the special interest that donates large chunks of money into the Congressional coffers. Check out this tidbit again from the Washington Post via BigGovernment.com.

While there is debate over the details, it is clear that medical malpractive lawsuits have some impact on driving health care costs higher. There are likely a number of procedures that are done simply as a defense against future possible litigation. Recall this from the Washington Post: 

“Lawmakers could save as much as $54 billion over the next decade by imposing an array of new limits on medical malpractice lawsuits, congressional budget analysts said today — a substantial sum that could help cover the cost of President Obama’s overhaul of the nation’s health system. New research shows that legal reforms would not only lower malpractice insurance premiums for medical providers, but would also spur providers to save money by ordering fewer tests and procedures aimed primarily at defending their decisions in court, Douglas Elmendorf, director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, wrote in a letter to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).”

Check out pages 1431-1433 of the healthcare bill here to read the entire section dedicated to this Pelosi pump fake.