David McKinley and Shelley Moore Capito Working For West Virginia

Citing Medicare, McKinley votes against GOP budgetW.Va. rep renews critique of Obama's tax-and-spend budget, ultra-partisan approach
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rep. David B. McKinley, P.E. (R-WV) voted against the 2012 budget passed by the House on Friday, saying that although he favors its overall deficit-reduction goals, he cannot support two of the main ways the savings in this budget are achieved: dramatically restructuring the Medicare program in a way that forces future retirees to pay substantially more for their healthcare, and keeping ObamaCare's crippling Medicare cuts in place.
McKinley also stated that he is unequivocally opposed to the president’s budget. In so doing, he reiterated his criticism of Obama’s plan and the speech he delivered this week calling for higher taxes.
“President Obama’s budget calls for $8.7 trillion in more deficit spending, $1.6 trillion in new tax increases and adds $13 trillion to the debt,” McKinley said. “We cannot continue this unsustainable status quo of record deficits and job-killing debt. Our small businesses and middle class deserve better. The president’s recent speech didn't change a thing. It just called for higher taxes on small businesses that would devastate the economy and was delivered in an ultra-partisan tone that demonstrates he's now fully engaged in a re-election campaign rather than participating in an adult conversation on how best to reduce the deficit.
“Congressman Paul Ryan’s proposal is a vast improvement over the president’s, and I thank him for putting forth a serious plan that puts us on a path toward balancing the budget and paying off our debt. Government spending is simply out of control. I am proud to have voted over 20 times to reduce spending in my first one hundred days in office, including the enactment of the largest spending decrease in America’s history this week. But we have far to go before the job is done.
“My home state of West Virginia has the highest percentage of Medicare beneficiaries in the country, and I cannot support a plan that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has determined would nearly double out-of-pocket healthcare costs for future retirees. Unfortunately, Medicare is on a path to bankruptcy unless action is taken. However, I am not convinced that such a dramatic overhaul of benefits for future retirees is necessary to save the program. Incremental changes may very well be a better solution when coupled with a robust effort to curtail fraud and abuse. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently found that in 2010 alone, Medicare lost $48 billion to fraud and other improper payments. We could save hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade if we implemented stringent accountability measures to correct these massive mistakes.
“Further, one of the chief reasons I opposed ObamaCare was because it cut $500 billion from Medicare to pay for government-run healthcare, and this budget does not repeal President Obama’s cuts. The entire law should be repealed as we work toward real healthcare reform that brings down costs through a variety of free-market reforms.
“There are attractive elements of the Ryan budget: it continues the ban on earmarks, repeals the job-killing provisions of the ObamaCare law, and reduces over-regulation on American job-creators to grow the economy. But the senior citizens of ten years from now have already experienced severe financial losses in their retirement funds due to job-killing policies in Washington and abuses by Wall Street. They deserve a Medicare program that takes into account the economic turmoil of the last few years and guarantees retirement security.
“My votes to cut $100 billion in spending this year alone serve as a demonstration of my commitment to fiscal responsibility. But whether it’s the president’s budget, the budget passed today by the House or any other proposal that has been offered thus far, I do not believe the right solution for the 1st Congressional District of West Virginia has been found yet. I will continue to work with my colleagues both Republican and Democrat to develop the best way to balance the budget, protect Medicare and serve my constituents’ interests as we proceed with this debate in the months ahead.”






Capito Joins Bipartisan Group Of Lawmakers Urging The Administration To Stop Using The Clean Water Act To Justify Gross Overreach Of Federal Power4/19/11
Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., joined a bipartisan group of 170 lawmakers in sending a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers expressing deep concern that the “guidance” letter these agencies sent to the Office of Management and Budget for regulatory review is no more than an attempt to circumvent the rule-making process in order to change the scope and meaning of the Clean Water Act.
“Congress, not unelected bureaucrats, should be making the decisions on environmental policy. This “guidance” will significantly change the scope of the federal government’s power to regulate streams in West Virginia. Once again, this Administration is using broadly interpreted regulatory authority to overstep the bounds of its traditional role in the permitting process to advance a political agenda,” stated Capito.
To view the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee press release and the bipartisan letter click here.

Last Gasp Efforts of Desperation

Two last gasp efforts are taking shape this week.

One is Donald Trump's plan to attract attention to himself. After Obama released his birth certificate, Trump moved on to ask for the release of other records, such as college grades and academic writings. Trump had implied that he had some very dicey revelations that turned out to be very little. His presidential campaign, such as it is or was, will probably dissipate as serious candidates ramp up their rhetoric.

While I don't see why Obama would have a problem with the release of grades, theses, or other materials, this just doesn't have the wow factor of the possibility of foreign birth. Franklin Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant, and Winston Churchill all did poorly in various phases of their schooling. If Obama was a C student, it is one of the few things he has done that would raise him into that sort of company. Perhaps there is some proto-Marxist expression in there, but that would not be as effective as hacking away at the poor decisions that he has already made. Most people care about Obama now, not Obama in college. College Obama did not attack Libya or shut off access to energy resources in a time of skyrocketing prices.

The other gasp of desperation comes from Obama supporters. This won't be a last gasp, but it is desperate. They want to shape the agenda for 2012 in terms of racism. In other words, you are a racist if you do not support or like Obama. An Associated Press story today pulled experts from Tufts University and elsewhere who confirmed over and over again that everyone who accused Obama of not being born in the United States of being racists. I suppose that included blacks who also asked those questions. They also tried to link racism to the Tea Party again, despite the fact that many Tea Partiers support either Allen West or Hermann Cain for president.

Obama supporters are definitely afraid. Their incumbent has had a difficult time and they have little positive record to run on. Incumbents cannot run on hope and change, either. So they will be pulling out the race card next year, just as Trump pulled the birth one in the past few months. Obama called Trump a carnival barker who pushed a non issue when there are many other problems to debate (does anyone REALLY think Trump is a racist?) Those who pull the race strategy are of the same ilk. They want to raise a distracting issue that is not even relevant to get us away from the real problems faced by America.

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Personally, I am tired of presidents who want to create a historical legacy. Since the 1920s, we have not had a president who simply let things work as they should and who had no interest in talking to anyone, or creating a historical legacy. I say dig him up, extract DNA, and clone him now. Then I'll campaign for Calvin Coolidge in 2012.

Issue Settled?

Barack Obama this morning finally released his certificate of live birth to satisfy those who have questioned his constitutional eligibility to serve.

Will this put a halt to the issue? Not likely. Many have started pointing out what they believe to be discrepancies between the released certificate and other certificates from the same era. It is an easy way to get under the skin of the president and his supporters, so some will continue to question the fact of his birth.

Democrats who cringe over the "birther" issue need to be honest with themselves. Had John McCain been elected, his birth in the Canal Zone would have spawned the same kind of movement on their side. They actually would have had better grounds for complaint, seeing as how Theodore Roosevelt's secretary of state flatly denied that the Canal Zone was United States territory. I am actually surprised that Republican contenders in 2008 did not make more of an issue of McCain's questionable eligibility.

The really interesting question here is why, after so long, did they finally release these records? It may indicate some fear that the Trump candidacy could start getting some traction, which is honestly a little laughable. Trump is a celebrity, not a candidate. He likes attention and this has garnered a lot for him. We are still in what political experts call "the silly season." Obama should be thinking in terms of Michael Corleone in the Godfather III when he said "Our true enemy has not yet revealed himself."

Obama is right when he says that we should focus on the issues at hand rather than the birth certificate. Ironically, the birth certificate issue is one of the few places where moderates tend to support Obama. Wiping it away does lead us back to $4 per gallon gas, near 10% unemployment, and a debt spiraling out of control. Thanks Obama! That was mighty helpful.

Trump has moved on, demanding release of Obama's college records. These could make him look bad, but it's not as if exemplary scholarship prevents one from becomign president. As the issue fades, so will Trump, until he finds a new way to get attention.

I have always maintained that Obama was likely born here. However, his ideas come from abroad. They are fundamentally non American. That is the problem.

Increasingly Alone and Isolated

Obama's presidency is imploding. Anyone can see that. His personality seems to be doing so as well.

As I have mentioned before, Obama's administration began a steep decline in terms of professionalism and message when Rahm Emmanuel left the White House. Emmanuel seemed to be the glue holding it all together. He was abrasive and irritated Republicans to no end, but Emmanuel was a capable helmsman for the ship of state.

Obama has foundered since, shifting course abruptly from the center to the left, back to the center, back to the left with no real rhyme or reason. He shifts from presidential to campaign mode constantly. Emmanuel also seemed to be the guy telling the president "don't say that." The president has grown much more hateful and angry over the past year, lashing out at conservative figures and trying to write Republicans out of every process. Obama also seems confused about Republican gains made last fall, seeing them as an aberration instead of a protest against his policies and ideas. His speech on the debt made left wingers fall in love all over again, but did not strike a presidential chord. Obama now just blames the Republican Party for all of his problems since he cannot single out George W. Bush anymore (probably since some polls suggest that voters would rather have W back in the White House.)

The presidency has worn down Obama. He was not prepared from the beginning and lost his most capable guide. Obama now seems lost, bitter, angry, and surrounded mostly by sycophants. Republicans fear that he can turn on the campaign mojo at the drop of a hat, but incumbents cannot run on hope and change. Outside of Rolling Stone, few people think that he has much of a positive record to run on either. He has succeeded in liberating the black conservative and reorienting the GOP for the 21st century. It remains to be seen if Obama can even campaign effectively in the coming months.

Does Anyone Care?

Does anyone really care? Honestly?

About the wedding of one of the British royal family princes (I forget which one) and a very attractive girl named Kate. Is this really worthy of the American media's full court press?

I imagine that if you polled most Americans, they, like me, would not be able to recall exactly who was getting married. However, we can all recite the gas prices for all of the different stations within five miles of our houses.

It's not that I have anything against the people getting married or the pomp and circumstance surrounding it. The British have this wonderful institution that is almost the only thing anymore that distinguishes them from Canada, sorry to say. It is interesting and draws large numbers of tourists, but I think that most Americans just are not as enthralled by the whole spectacle as they have been in past years. This is likely because we are still trying to figure out why we attacked Libya, how we will pay our debt, and how we will pay for fuel in the coming months.

Sorry, Britain, it's not your fault that we're not interested this time. Of course the media is jumping at the chance to cover something, anything that does not result in Obama looking worse and worse.