There is an old political joke. What is the difference between a Democrat and a Republican? With a Democrat you get more of the same. With a Republican you get less of the same.
Mitt Romney raised $4.6 million in the first 24 hours after the Obamacare tax decision from the Supreme Court. Yet now are we seeing signs that we will simply get less of the same when it comes of for repeal?
Mitt Romney has been saying he would repeal Obamacare. Yet he has been a champion for Romneycare.
Now, when the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare as a tax, Romney jumped into action. He said, “What the Court did not do on its last day in session, I will do on my first day if elected President of the United States. And that is I will act to repeal Obamacare.”
To say I am nervous about him would be an understatement.
Unfortunately there is an old Republican trick. They promise they will vote on an issue that is of great importance to conservatives. That vote is held and they are able to go back to their states and their districts, telling their constituents, “I voted for (fill in the blank) just the way you wanted me to,” knowing good and well the vote was meaningless.
Further on in his speech Romney said, “For all those reasons, it's important for us to repeal and replace Obamacare. What are some of the things that we'll keep in place, and must be in place, in a reform, a real reform, of our healthcare system? One, we have to make sure that people who want to keep their current insurance will be able to do so. Having 20 million people, up to that number of people, lose the insurance they want, is simply unacceptable. Number two, got to make sure that those people who have pre-existing conditions know that they will be able to be insured and they will not lose their insurance. We also have to assure that we do our very best to help each state in their effort to assure that every American has access to affordable healthcare. And something that Obamacare does not do that must be done in real reform is helping lower the cost of healthcare and health insurance. It's becoming prohibitively expensive.”
This is déjà vu. Take out the gratuitous slam on Obamacare, that speech sounds like Obama could have given it.
We have to make the Republicans understand, replacing Obamacare with another big government insurance program is not the answer but that seems to be the answer Romney is going to push.
In that speech he also said, “If we want good jobs and a bright economic future, for ourselves and for our kids, we must replace Obamacare.”
Romney does not say repeal Obamacare, he says replace it.
If the Republicans simply replace Obamacare with Romneycare, another massive big government program, the GOP will commit political suicide.
Unless the GOP understands that Romneycare will mean the end of the Republican Party and we conservatives will bolt from the Party if all they are going to do is put another name on Obamacare, they will do just that.
This is our mission. We must have their attention. If they do not listen, then they must feel the pain at the ballot box.
Tags: constitutionality, court, obama, obamacare, republicans, romney, romneycare, scotus, supreme
Permalink Reply by Milton on There are big differences between Obama and Romney, stop listening to the idologs and do some homework and you can clearly see the differences!
Jobs. In general, Obama's plan for creating jobs relies on temporary tax breaks, federal spending to hire teachers, cops and firefighters, federal backing for new infrastructure projects, and subsidized retraining for those chronically out of work. Romney prefers less direct spending by the government and instead favors looser regulation, lower taxes on business, more free trade, and a faster permitting process to boost domestic energy production. He would also pressure China to change its trade practices in ways that might make Chinese goods more expensive and U.S.-based manufacturers more competitive.
Income taxes. Both men have called for comprehensive tax reform. Obama wants to raise tax rates and reduce deductions for individuals who earn $200,000 or more, and households that earn more than $250,000, while keeping current tax rates intact for everybody else. Romney wants to keep all tax rates where they are, while eliminating the estate tax. He'd also eliminate taxes on dividends, interest, and capital gains for those earning less than $200,000.
Analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center shows that the bottom 40 percent of earners would pay lower taxes under Obama's plan, while the next 40 percent would fare roughly the same under both plans. The top 20 percent of earners would pay less under Romney's plan. If Obama got his way, the average American's annual tax bill would fall by about $1,373, compared with the tax rules now on the books (which include the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts at the end of this year). Under Romney, the average decline would be $3,566. Voters should be skeptical of any proposed tax cuts, however, because they would add to the mushrooming national debt and Washington can scarcely afford them.
Corporate taxes. Without giving a number, Obama has said he'd support a reduction of the 35 percent corporate tax rate, if it were accompanied by the elimination of tax breaks for certain businesses and other reforms. He has also proposed some temporary tax breaks to boost hiring. Romney says that lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent is a "day one" priority. He also supports a few other corporate tax breaks meant to encourage more investment and stronger growth in the United States.
Government spending. Obama has proposed about $1.2 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years, including nearly $600 billion from defense, $300 billion from Medicare and Medicaid reforms, and the rest from an array of smaller programs. Romney supports the "cut, cap, and balance" plan that's become a Republican staple. He'd cap government spending at 20 percent of GDP or less, shrink the federal workforce by 10 percent, and pursue a balanced-budget amendment that would restrain federal borrowing, and therefore, spending.
Debt reduction. Obama's overall plan calls for cutting the national debt by $3 trillion over 10 years, with one third of it coming from new tax revenue and two thirds coming from spending cuts. Romney hasn't established a debt-reduction target, with his proposals for reining in the debt limited mostly to spending cuts. The Tax Policy Center, however, found that Romney's proposed tax cuts would increase the national debt by about $600 billion per year, which theoretically would require even deeper offsetting spending cuts to be debt-neutral.
Obamacare: Romney signed a similar law in Massachusetts in 2006, when he was governor, but now says that Obamacare should be repealed. Instead of a federal plan to expand healthcare coverage, he says states should choose whether to do it on their own.
Tort reform. Obama's huge healthcare law contained no provisions for reining in medical malpractice lawsuits and other types of litigation that most experts believe drive up prices. Romney supports reforms that would prevent "spurious litigation."
Medicare. Obama would preserve Medicare in its current form, while making "modest adjustments" to lower costs, such as encouraging better use of digital medical records, requiring wealthier seniors to pay more for their care, and giving the government more power to force down medical costs. Romney would revamp Medicare in a way that keeps the existing structure intact for current beneficiaries, but eventually replaces that with a "premium support" plan that gives seniors a fixed benefit each year that they can use to purchase private insurance. Lower-income seniors would get a more generous benefit than wealthier ones. Romney hasn't provided details for what the benefit structure might be or when it would go into effect.
Social Security. Obama has said virtually nothing about reforming Social Security, one of the costly federal programs that will need some changes in the future to stay solvent. Romney has suggested several changes, such as raising the retirement age or reducing benefits for wealthier enrollees. He also insists there should be no new taxes to help pay for Social Security.
Medicaid. As with Medicare, Obama would keep this program that provides healthcare for the poor largely intact, but change some rules to save about $7 billion per year. Romney would be more aggressive, converting Medicaid into a "block grant" program in which fixed payments from Washington are managed by the states as they wish. Romney claims that eventually, this could save Washington
$200 billion per year.
Permalink Reply by KathleenSt on Milton: ORomney is Obamalite.
When I heard him say it is up to the state's to implement mandatory healthcare I heard this:
Fundamentally transform America.
I have no choice but to vote for him but quite frankly he has a lot to show me before I have confidence in his ability to provide FREEDOM.
The only good thing about his running is that the bar has been raised.
Americans will want more and not more of the same crap.
Americans will make him a one term president.
The paperboys will slaughter him.
He has a lot to prove. Let's see if he's up to it.
Permalink Reply by Tea Partier 2012 on We the people will not take less than REPEAL Obamacare. We need to make sure Congress knows that. We've done it before and we'll do it again. We must unite.
Permalink Reply by Grace Kirby on Here's another take on the SCOTUS decision:
by markamerica
Permalink Reply by KathleenSt on Grace, this most certainly mirrors what I've been screaming.
There is NOTHING good about the bill, NOTHING good about turncoat Roberts, NOTHING good for AMERICA.
This will be precendent for future cases?
Roberts knew damn well what he did and quite frankly I have to say he doesn't love America as we do.
Again, he was on the bong and freaked out.
Nothing else could explain such a horrific ruling from someone who was SUPPOSE to be a constitutional expert.
Permalink Reply by Grace Kirby on Kathleen, Yes, what you say is true. So what do we do about it? It is really up to us to educate everyone we know. It will be the most difficult battle we will ever face in our lifetimes. I have a nephew who is completely blind to what is going on. He prefers to live in his limited world and listens only what he wants to hear. No proof laid before him to prove that he is wrong will dissuade him from his beliefs. And there are millions like him out there. The only thing that keeps me fighting is the lesson I learned from history (thanks to Newt Gingrich's speaches) is that if the people who fought for our freedom in the Revolutionary War were willing to march with bloody feet on fields of snow to achieve their goal, then I can survive the slings and arrows that I know will come from even my family. But so what? If we can win the war, it will be worth it.
Permalink Reply by KathleenSt on Grace: the problem is the YOUNG and the ELDERLY both groups that vote -- the stupids voting.
Try telling people 86-93 yrs old anything -- all you hear is you are so negative.
He's a good boy (Junior that is)
It hasn't affected me -- we all still get FREE colonscopy.
We still get our FREE bus trips to casino.
It's all about ME.
Show a young person, if you can get your hands on one, a chart detailing each tax and how it will affect their job, if they can find one.
I'm fried with sheeple. I almost feel like saying hope you like what you WON"T get and you thought you would.
Lay down and die -- that's pretty much what you will get.
Permalink Reply by Vern Shotwell on "the ELDERLY both groups that vote -- the stupids voting."
Bah, you are looking at the down side.
Should Obamacare and the death panels stand, expect this group to be fairly well weeded out!
Yes indeed, there is always a silver lining....if you look close enough!
Permalink Reply by KathleenSt on Vern: I am a senior too driving my more senior Mother, Mother in Law & friends around.
My head spins on a daily basis.
I expect MY group, not the group 85+ years older to be affected too much -- my doctor said the same.
It's the boomers that are the target -- the very elderly not so much.
Permalink Reply by Vern Shotwell on Ha!
Just trying to make you feel better about the "stupids voting"!
My guess is that you and I are about the same age. Perhaps we need not worry much about getting "old and infirm". Now did I make you feel better? : - )
Permalink Reply by KathleenSt on Vern: ever so slightly did you make me feel better -- I'll feel MUCH better when we dump Obamascare, TAKE the senate, HOLD the house and EVICT wooden head!!
When I say the stupids I mean they do NOT want to hear anything about what his happening -- nothing.
Extremely myopic. I have a temper tantrum just about every day trying to give them information and then getting a puss in return.
Yeah, I think we're in the same age group.
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