Author: Campaign For Liberty Blog

By Tim Shoemaker

Hidden behind the recent headline drama of the ongoing health care debate, trouble is brewing for the Obama administration.  On Monday, The American Spectator released a detailed article on the so-called “jobsgate” scandal that is beginning to ensnare the White House.

September 27, 2009 — The Denver Post reports that Obama White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina allegedly offered a job in the Obama administration to ex-Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff if Romanoff dropped his planned primary challenge to incumbent U.S. Senator Michael Bennet.

Then…

February 18, 2010 — Philadelphia TV anchor Larry Kane reports that on his just taped Comcast show, he had asked Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak, who is challenging incumbent Senator Arlen Specter whether it was true that the Obama administration had offered Sestak a job if he would withdraw from his primary challenge to Specter. Sestak answers “yes,” specifically saying the offer came from someone in the White House and that he, Sestak, turned down the offer.

The administration refused to return comments regarding the first two allegations.  The American Spectator then dug up that it was in fact a FEDERAL CRIME to offer a job in return for favors. 

The saga continued as Press Secretary Robert Gibbs continually stonewalled anyone questioning the subject during press briefings.  An example of which can be seen here.

Then enter Senator Specter:

“There’s a crime called misprision of a felony. Misprision of a felony is when you don’t report a crime. So you’re getting into pretty deep areas here in these considerations.” — U.S. Senator Arlen Specter on March 12, 2010

In two short sentences, Specter unwittingly raised the stakes exponentially.  IF the administration did offer these jobs and neither Romanoff or Sestak reported these crimes, they could both be looking at jail time.  Additionally, anyone within the administration who knew about these deals and did not report it to federal authorities could also end up convicted.  All of this is compounded by Rep. Darrelle Issa (CA) who has written a formal letter to the President’s legal counsel demanding answers.

There are simply too many details to explain in a short blog, but you’ll definitely want to read the rest & keep an eye on the developments as this story plays out.

By Matt Hawes

Dr. Paul discusses Senator Chris Dodd’s financial regulatory “reform” proposal in this recent interview:

Dodd wants financial stability to now be an explicit function of the Fed. What do you think the outcome of that would be?

Financial stability? Well you need a stable dollar to have that. You can’t allow somebody to double the money supply in one year and have the financial community wondering: when is he gonna take that off the balance sheet? You don’t get stability that way. It’s impossible….

Read the rest.

By Matt Hawes

Via John Boehner’s office:

Today, House Republicans will force a vote on a resolution requiring a clean, up-or-down vote on the Senate-passed health care bill. If adopted by the House, the resolution would block Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Democratic Leaders from implementing the controversial “Slaughter Solution,” which continues to draw widespread outrage from around the country….

Read the rest.

By Matt Hawes

Reporter Tim Carney takes on the White House’s favorite talking point for health care in his latest piece for the Washington Examiner.

The Obama team regularly dismisses opponents as industry lackeys. The Democratic National Committee blasted out e-mails this week warning that “for every member of Congress, there are eight anti-reform lobbyists swarming Capitol Hill” and “Congress is under attack from insurance lobbyists.”

But drug industry lobbyists, according to Politico, spent the weekend “huddled with Democratic staffers” who needed the drug lobby to “sign off” on proposals before moving ahead. Meanwhile, we learn that the drug lobby is buying millions of dollars of ads in 43 districts where a Democratic candidate stands to suffer for supporting the bill. The doctors’ lobby and the hospitals’ lobby are also on board with the Senate bill….

PhRMA chief Billy Tauzin, who was vilified by Obama on the campaign trail, worked out much of this sweetheart deal in a West Wing meeting with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Tauzin visited the White House at least 11 times. He left his imprint so deeply on the current bill that it should probably be called BillyCare rather than ObamaCare….

Read the rest.

By Matt Holdridge

This is a bit of an old article but in the midst of all this distressing news, I thought it would be nice to entertain something more lighthearted, intriguing, and wholesome that speaks to many of us in our movement. 

From NPR (Read more and listen to the segment here): 

What is a Crunchy Conservative? 

At a time when the Republican Party seems to be fracturing from within, commentator Rod Dreher says it’s time for the GOP to return to its roots. And he thinks conservatives could find inspiration from fellow Republicans who embrace a counter-cultural yet traditional conservative lifestyle — what Dreher dubs “Crunchy Cons.”

“Crunchy cons prefer old houses and mom-and-pop shops to McMansions and strip malls…. Many of us homeschool our kids, and cheerfully embrace nonconformity. I read Edmund Burke and wear Birkenstock sandals. Go figure.”

This is from Chapter One of Rod Dreher’s book, Crunchy Cons.

By Matt Hawes

The New York Times takes a look at the growing nullification movement:

Whether it’s correctly called a movement, a backlash or political theater, state declarations of their rights – or in some cases denunciations of federal authority, amounting to the same thing – are on a roll….

Read the rest.

By Matt Hawes

Congressman Paul takes on the Fed during his opening statement at today’s House Financial Services Committee hearing on Fed bank supervision and monetary policy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKESSurEhEs

Update: Congressman Paul questions Bernanke on interest rates and the boom-bust cycle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG-tbclZmo0

By Tim Shoemaker

In the past, particularly during the ’08 Presidential campaign, people (including myself) often described Dennis Kucinich as the “Ron Paul of the left”.  This comparison was shattered today when Kucinich announced he will be voting in favor of the health care bill.

“Some have speculated that I may be, this time, in the position of casting a deciding vote,” he said at a Capitol Hill news conference this morning. “The vote on the final healthcare bill will be close… I take this vote with the utmost seriouness…. I know that I have to make a decision, not on the bill as I would like to see it, but as it is…

“I have doubts about the bill,” he said. “This is not the bill I wanted to support…. However, after careful discussions with President Obama, Speaker Pelosi” and his family, he said, “I have decided to cast a vote in favor of the legisation….”

Read the rest.

If Kucinich were really as principled as he believes himself to be, he would have cast a “no” vote on this legislation for precisely the same reasons he articulated on ‘Countdown’ last week.

Kucinich had a chance to prove that he “walks the walk” but instead let the intense pressure from the powers that be sway his opinion. 

(Remember when Dr. Paul voted against his own “Audit the Fed” bill because it was attached as an amendment to the horrendous financial regulatory reform package?  That’s the kind of vote Kucinich had the opportunity to make this week.)

By Heather D

When President Obama took office, he famously aspired to be the leader in administrative transparency, but now he finds himself struggling to enforce it within his own government.

In fiscal year 2009, 17 major governmental agencies refused to release information, claiming legal exemptions, 466,872 times, an increase of nearly 50 percent from the previous year, according to a review of requests conducted by The Associated Press. In 2008, the government refused 312,683 requests made under the Freedom of Information Act, AP reported.

The AP examined the 2008 and 2009 budget year FOIA reports from the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury and Veterans Affairs; the Environmental Protection Agency; and the Federal Reserve Board.

Read the rest here.

By brandonwbarrios

Chaos, weak oversight allowed many who stole cash to dodge prosecution

Via the New York Times:

Investigators looking into corruption involving reconstruction in Iraq say they have opened more than 50 new cases in six months by scrutinizing large cash transactions- involving banks, land deals, loan payments, casinos and even plastic surgery- made by some of the Americans involved in the nearly $150 billion program.

A higher class of criminal- sophisticated and discreet.

Some of the cases involve people who are suspected of having mailed tens of thousands of dollars to themselves from Iraq, or of having stuffed the money into duffel bags and suitcases when leaving the country, the federal investigators said.  In other cases, millions of dollars were moved through wire transfers.  Suspects then used cash to buy BMW’s, Humvees and expensive jewelry, or to pay off enormous casino debts.

Not that any of this would surprise us.  I suppose the bright side is that following Keynesian logic all this spending will boost the economy.

Read the rest. 

By Heather D

The health care reform battle is raging in the Capitol this week, with talk from the leadership turning to political maneuvering to pass the Senate version through the House. The latest reports are that the phones are ringing off the hook, and there are some claims by Tea Partiers visiting D.C. that the phones have been placed off the hook (this according to an interview with Neil Cavuto).

Please keep calling, but if you can’t get through, call or visit your Representative’s local office. Use email and/or fax as well.

Please click here to find your Representative’s contact information.

By Jesse Benton

Of course I am partial because we are family, but I think Kelley Paul is great! If Rand moves on to the Senate this fall, she could be a great messenger for Liberty and limited government.

By Matt Hawes

Economist Walter E. Williams answers that question in his latest column.

Say a person, let’s call him Harry, suffers from diabetes and he has no means to pay a laboratory for blood work, a doctor for treatment and a pharmacy for medication. Does Harry have a right to XYZ lab’s and Dr. Jones’ services and a prescription from a pharmacist? And, if those services are not provided without charge, should Harry be able to call for criminal sanctions against those persons for violating his rights to health care?

You say, “Williams, that would come very close to slavery if one person had the right to force someone to serve him without pay.” You’re right. Suppose instead of Harry being able to force a lab, doctor and pharmacy to provide services without pay, Congress uses its taxing power to take a couple of hundred dollars out of the paycheck of some American to give to Harry so that he could pay the lab, doctor and pharmacist. Would there be any difference in principle, namely forcibly using one person to serve the purposes of another? There would be one important strategic difference, that of concealment. Most Americans, I would hope, would be offended by the notion of directly and visibly forcing one person to serve the purposes of another. Congress’ use of the tax system to invisibly accomplish the same end is more palatable to the average American….

None of my argument is to argue against charity. Reaching into one’s own pockets to assist his fellow man in need is praiseworthy and laudable. Reaching into someone else’s pockets to do so is despicable and deserves condemnation.

COPYRIGHT 2010 CREATORS.COM

Read the rest.

By Matt Hawes

As the White House continues to pound Americans with the line that the drug industry is “clearly” against their version of health care reform, Politico brings us this update:

The drug industry, which has held off running ads until officials sign off on the final reconciliation bill, is growing more comfortable with the emerging legislation and is preparing a substantial pro-reform ad buy in 43 Democratic districts, according to a senior industry source….

Read the rest.  (Thanks to N.S.)

By Matt Holdridge

From Fox News:

Republicans and Democrats are locked in a battle over how to vote on the health care reform package, as House Republicans try to block Speaker Nancy Pelosi from using a legislative trick that would allow rank-and-file Democrats to vote for the health care bill without really voting for the health care bill. 

It goes on…

House Republicans plan to introduce a resolution that would require a “straight” vote in the House on the Senate-approved health care plan, to ensure everyone goes on the record as for or against the bill. 

The tactic explained…

Under this tactic, the House could simultaneously approve the Senate version of the bill while voting on the package of changes. This would “deem” the Senate bill passed, though not directly show members voting in favor of passage. 

It may sound murky, but the option is winning favor among Democrats.

…The maneuver is not rare, though it’s not typically used for something so sweeping and high-profile. The House most recently used the tactic to raise the debt limit while simultaneously passing a measure requiring the chamber to pay for the measures it approves. 

Pelosi reportedly told liberal bloggers Monday that “nobody wants to vote for the Senate bill,” and so she’s strongly considering the non-vote vote. 

Contact your representatives. Demand they stop the health care takeover! 

By Anthony Gregory

Including Toyota. Of course, customers are king and should be free to boycott any business for any reason—and the freer the market the more this is possible. But Toyota claims, somewhat credibly, that the accusations about its cars’ “runaway acceleration” are belied by the failure to repeat the incident.

I still reserve judgment on this, and I believe that is the best bet. At least when it comes to piling on the demonization of a company and the bolstering of the U.S. regulatory state—a government in bed with Toyota’s American competitors—to combat this percieved problem. In any event, the market has been shown to be the best means of regulating this problem in the real sense. Every time a percieved, however isolated, problem with a company makes the news, calls for bigger government predictably follow. This is the same government whose FDA has deprived millions of Americans of effective pharmaceuticals while rubberstamping the drugs whose manufacturers are politically connected, whose warfare state kills civilians abroad and whose law enforcement jails peaceful Americans at home, whose Social Security Administration and IRS forces workers into a corrupt scheme that makes Ponzi look humanitarian.

It is prudent to err on the side of caution, of course, but also to reserve judgment when the big media all line up to villianize a business—especially a business competing with the favored firms of the protectionist corporate state.

By Jesse Benton

The Houston Chronicle has a poll to rate the most effective legislator in the Houston Delegation. Please vote for Dr. Paul here.

By Anthony Gregory

We often hear the reason we need the census, especially in its invasive modern form, is to figure out how best to spend government money for necessary social infrastructure. But the census bureau itself, a relatively modest institution for a federal agency, has gone significantly over budget. “Auditors also found the Census Bureau provided training to some 15,000 workers who either worked not at all or less than a single day — at a total cost of $5.5 million.” This is peanuts compared to the stimulus-bailout-corporatist-warfare state we now live under, and yet to tout the census as necessary to determine reasonable uses of tax dollars strikes me as absurd, or at least quite ironic. After all, if we want to consider more reasonable uses of tax dollars, why not just cut from those areas that most obviously do little to help average Americans—overseas militarism and foreign aid, Wall Street and corporate subsidies and the like? Every government program is advertised as necessary for fiscal responsibility, no matter how much it costs.

By Matt Hawes

Ryan Grim over at The Huffington Post reports on Nancy Pelosi’s recent statements concerning health care, including an acknowledgement that “[n]obody wants to vote for the Senate bill.”

So the third option is to write the rule so that the passage of the reconciliation package deems the Senate bill to also have passed, a parliamentary maneuver she said the Senate parliamentarian had said was acceptable.

It’s a technical distinction and Democrats hope that it’s deep enough in the weeds that average voters will focus instead on the substance of the legislation instead of the confusing process. Asked if she had firmly decided to pursue the third option, she answered, “I like the third one better.”…

More interesting statements from the Speaker appear near the end of the piece.

Once the bill is passed, she said, she is ready to defend it against “the same forces that were aligned against Medicare.”

“We’ve been a piñata for six months,” she said. “We have to take it to the American people and say this is the choice that you have.”

Well, how nice of her.

Read the rest.

And be sure to keep those calls, emails, and faxes going this week.  Your representatives need to hear loud and clear that it’s time for legitimate, constitutional reform, not the cementing of the status quo we’re being sold as “change.”

By Matt Hawes

On Thursday, February 18, 2010, historian and author Tom Woods spoke on “When All Else Fails: Nullification and State Resistance to Federal Tyranny” as part of Campaign for Liberty’s activities at the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Writer and radio host Jack Hunter (“The Southern Avenger”) introduced Tom.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=26B927B136BECA17