Cutter’s Day Still Getting Worse: “I Promise To Resign As Soon As Romney Gives A Foreign Policy Speech With Some Policy In It”…

Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter continues to draw fire as she continues to criticize Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan for questioning President Obama’s response to the terrorist attack in Libya.

“I promise to resign as soon as Romney releases his taxes or gives a foreign policy speech with some policy in it,” Cutter emailed a Huffington Post reporter, after clashing with Townhall’s Katie Pavlich, who asked her if she was going to resign.

Cutter also clashed with FOX News’ Bret Baier over her remarks earlier this evening.

Via: Washington Examiner

Continue Reading...

Morning Bell: 10 Questions for the Vice Presidential Debate

Tonight’s debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Representative Paul Ryan is supposed to cover both domestic and foreign policy. The Heritage Foundation’s policy experts have submitted 10 questions they would like to see asked in the debate.

Watch with us tonight—we will be streaming the debate live at 9 p.m. ET on our Debate 2012 page, with an experts’ live blog.

DOMESTIC POLICY

1. Obamacare takes $716 billion out of Medicare to fund Obamacare. This includes $156 billion in cuts to Medicare Advantage. Currently, 27 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, which is a private alternative to traditional Medicare. The Medicare Chief Actuary projects that by 2017, Obamacare’s severe cuts will decrease enrollment in Medicare Advantage by 50 percent and result in less generous benefit packages for those who do remain in the program. What changes would you make, if any, to ensure that these seniors are able to keep their current Medicare Advantage plan?

2. Patient choice is working well within Medicare and other government health programs. In addition to the private plans in Medicare Advantage, there are 1,100 plans in the Medicare drug program and hundreds of plans in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. None of these plans use “vouchers”; they receive a direct government contribution toward the cost of the plans. Would you expand patient choice in Medicare? Why or why not?

3. Most people under the age of 40 will pay more in Social Security taxes than they will receive in benefits, and Medicare adds to federal deficits faster than any other government spending program. How would you focus entitlement reform on reducing spending?

4. Under Obamacare, the Health and Human Services (HHS) preventive services mandate requires nearly all employers to cover abortion drugs and contraception regardless of religious or moral objection, effectively exempting only formal houses of worship. Should Americans be able to live out their faith commitments outside the four walls of their church—in the public square and in the way they run their businesses or non-profits?

5. It has been almost four years since the federal government took control of General Motors. Vice President Biden has said the bailout of the firm was a success. Was this a success? Why or why not? And when should the federal government sell the shares it still owns?

CBS 5 Poll: Romney Gains 8 Points On Faltering Obama In California

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) — The effects of President Barack Obama’s falter in the first debate with Mitt Romney are not just being felt in battleground states, according to KPIX-TV CBS 5′s latest tracking poll of California which shows Romney slicing eight points off Obama’s lead.

Obama had led by 22 points in the CBS 5 tracking poll released four weeks ago. Obama now leads by only 14 points, an 8-point improvement for Romney. At the same time, the poll found U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s support for her re-election bid remained largely unchanged, month-on-month, suggesting that the erosion in Democratic support is not across-the-board, but contained to Obama. Unclear is whether the Obama erosion is fleeting or long-lasting.

RELATED CONTENT:
Download The Complete CBS 5 Poll Results Data (.pdf)
Exclusive Presidential Forum – Get Obama and Romney’s takes on the most important election issues.

The poll data released Wednesday showed Obama 53%, Romney 39%, in California. Obama carried the Golden State by 24 points in 2008, so the poll found Obama is now running 10 points weaker than he ran 4 years ago. Among Independents, Obama led by 14 in September, but now trails by 9 in October, a 23-point right turn among the most coveted voters. One explanation, based on the poll data: The number of Romney supporters who said they were voting “for Mitt Romney” as opposed to “against Barack Obama” is way up, month over month.

In the U.S. Senate race, the poll showed Feinstein 54%, Republican Elizabeth Emken 35%. That’s largely unchanged from CBS 5′s last measurement, when Emken trailed incumbent Feinstein by 18 points.

On Proposition 30, the poll showed the issue to be a toss-up at this point. Among the most committed likely voters – those who said they “strongly support” or “strongly oppose” the measure, No narrowly leads Yes 38% to 33% with 29% uncretain. Among the larger group of likely voters, including those with soft support, Yes narrowly leads No 45% to 39% with 16% undecided.

National General Election

Obama          48% Romney        48%

Source: Rasmussen 10/6-8

National General Election

Obama          45% Romney        49%

Source: Pew Research 10/4-7

National General Election

Obama          47% Romney        49%

Source: Gallup 10/2-8

Via: CBS San Francisco

Continue Reading...

Morning Jay: Politics and the Gallup Poll

Since about the beginning of President Obama’s tenure, the Gallup poll has generally been one of the least positive polls for the Democratic party. This has prompted outrage and pressure from the left--even from presidential advisor David Axelrod.

Over the summer Mark Blumenthal of Huffington Post wrote a critique of Gallup’s daily presidential job approval poll. The point of which was that Gallup was over-sampling whites and thus understating President Obama’s position in the adult population. I responded by arguing that Blumenthal’s case was underdeveloped and less-than-met-the-eye, and that was basically where things stood.

Until, that is, this week. President Obama enjoyed a bounce in his Gallup job approval number after the Democratic National Convention, as was to be expected, but there was a twist: it did not disappear. And while Gallup on average had found Obama’s job approval around 47 percent with adults through most of 2012, for the last five weeks it has been regularly above 50 percent. Yesterday, it stood at 53 percent, a number we have not really seen since 2009.

Via: Weekly Standard

Continue Reading...

BIDEN CHALLENGE: KEEP DOWN-BALLOT DEMS FROM JUMPING SHIP

I have cautioned Republicans that we shouldn't get too excited about Thursday's VP debate. Yes, Paul Ryan has forgotten more about the federal budget than Joe Biden ever knew. But, sometimes, having too much knowledge can trip you up in a debate. More troubling, Biden has a habit of just making stuff up on the fly. Its hard to debate crazy. That said, the real pressure is on the Vice President. If he whiffs this debate, Democrats will start running away from the Obama ticket. 

If I had to make a bet, I would wager that Paul Ryan will do very well in the VP debate. As I have noted, though, I don't think its the slam-dunk many people think and, given Biden's tendencies to just make shit up, there is no telling how the debate will go. I fully expect, at some point in the debate, Ryan will be forced to give a WTF look at the moderator because of something "Grandpa Joe" says. 

That said, the pressure on Biden is enormous. Last week, President Obama gave the worst debate performance in history. A Gallup poll of adults, which provides some institutional bias for Democrats, found that Romney beat Obama on the question of who won the debate by a 52-point margin. It was the biggest victory margin in history. 

Its another week until Romney and Obama face off again. Since the first debate, Romney is surging in virtually every poll. He is confident and steady on the campaign trail. Even if Obama can pick up his game in the next debate, that is a week away. Another week of "Romney crushed Obama in the debate" would be a terrible blow to Obama's reelection. So, all eyes are on the VP debate. 

Biden needs to go beyond his tendency to misspeak and make gaffes and nail a coherent vision for Obama's second term. If he doesn't, down-ballot Dems running for the Senate or the House will start to aggressively move away from the national ticket. Obama may do a better job in the debate next week, but without a powerful assist from Biden on Thursday, many Dems won't be able to wait that long. 

Via: Breitbart

Continue Reading...

Systemic Medicare Fraud Under Houston's Sheila Jackson Lee

Will Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee have to distance herself from Houston's Riverside General Hospital now that top administrators have been caught in a major Medicare fraud scam?

Last week's roundup makes me wonder why the Obama administration is cracking down on Medicare/Medicaid fraud in the first place.  Aren't they the ones shelling out hundreds of millions to their Solyndra-like cronies with no consequences?

Is it to make them look tough on crime, or is it to make sure the recovered monies are going into their own wallets at the end of the day?

Since her days on the Houston City Council, Jackson Lee has pushed to use city funds to keep Riverside's doors open.  At that time, the councilwoman suggested that the facility was a good investment for the city. 

Jackson Lee's interest in Riverside goes back to the '80s when her husband Elwyn C. Lee, now University of Houston vice-chancellor (see video), served on Riverside's board from 1981-1988.  In his last year at Riverside, Mr. Lee was made chairman of that board, and over the years, husband and wife have been influential in keeping the financially strapped hospital open.  Jackson Lee was voted into Congress in 1994, representing the 18^th district, where Riverside is located.

The president of Riverside, his son, and five others were arrested on October 4 as part of a nationwide Medicare fraud sweep.  Earnest Gibson III, chief executive officer of Riverside General Hospital for 30 years, has been charged with bilking $158 million out of Medicare over the last seven years.

His son, Earnest Gibson IV, was charged with thirteen counts, including money-laundering and conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  The older Gibson became president around the same time Jackson Lee's husband was appointed to the board in the early '80s.

Via: The American Thinker

Continue Reading...

Organizing for America Assists Voter Fraud

In a new undercover video sting, James O’Keefe has captured a staffer for Organizing for America, which was established in 2009 to support the Obama Administration’s legislative agenda and is now connected to the Obama campaign, helping an undercover operative get set up to vote twice.

In the new video by the man who helped take down ACORN, an Obama volunteer who is working undercover for James O’Keefe tells Organizing for America’s director in Texas, Stephanie Caballero, that she wants to vote more than once to help re-elect President Obama.

According to O’Keefe’s organization, Caballero is listed in FEC filings as a Democratic National Committee employee.

Caballero then helps the Texas voter and volunteer get the form needed to request an absentee ballot for Florida, a key battleground state. Though Caballero never explicitly says voting twice is allowed, the dialogue in the video shows that she knows what the voter intends to do. Caballero says that she’ll print out the Florida form and “you just have to mail it back.” The double voter says that she doesn’t want “to get in any trouble, but like I said, if no one is gonna know.” Caballero’s laughing response? “Oh my God this is so funny! It’s cool though!” Caballero asks if the volunteer is “going to do what I think you are going to do?,” that is, vote in both Texas and Florida. After the volunteer says, “If no one is going to know,” Caballero gives the forms to the volunteer that will allow her to commit a federal felony by voting twice.

Via: The Foundry

Continue Reading...

VP debate: An epic non-event?

Tomorrow night, the American electorate will watch another in a series of four debates intended to help voters decide who should be the next President.  In this event, however, neither presidential candidate will be present.  Instead, the two running mates will discuss and debate policies and issues on national television for 90 minutes.  While that will no doubt provide much entertainment for the pundit class, will it move the needle for the election?

Politico’s Jonathan Martin thinks it might:

Vice presidential debates typically matter as much as vice presidential picks — which is to say not a lot — but a convergence of factors is raising the stakes on this week’s faceoff between Paul Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden.

Looming most heavy over the clash in Kentucky is President Barack Obama’s remarkably weak debate performance last week, a showing that has given Republicans their first sense of hope in weeks and increased the pressure on Biden to get Democrats back on course. …

If “Gentleman Joe” took the stage four years ago, determined not to come off as patronizing or bullying Sarah Palin, it seems almost certain that Thursday will bring the appearance of “Scranton Joe,” the scrappy pol who’s never been afraid to throw a punch.

That’s probably true, although we’re a lot more likely to see Gaffemaster Joe, too — the one who helpfully explained that the middle class had been “buried the last four years,” while he and his boss occupied the White House.  Ramesh Ponnuru notes that while mainly discounting its impact, but predicts a walkover for Paul Ryan anyway:

The Democratic reaction to Obama’s debate loss may also point Biden in the wrong direction. Among liberals — and among some Democratic strategists, too — the prevailing view is that Obama lost because he didn’t call Romney on his outrageous lies, and especially because he didn’t draw a stark contrast on Medicare and Social Security. Obama even said the two candidates had a “similar position” on the second program. Democrats will be urging Biden to be more combative.

The vice president isn’t above demagogic attacks: In his convention speech, for example, he claimed “experts” had said that one of Romney’s tax proposals would create 800,000 jobs, “all of them overseas, all of them.” In fact, Biden was referring to a study by one expert, and it didn’t say what he claimed: It estimated 800,000 jobs would be created overseas, but it didn’t examine the impact domestically. Yet Biden also likes to be liked, and has tended to take his hardest shots before partisan audiences rather than in front of the Republicans he is criticizing.

And the consensus Democratic view that Obama was too passive and disengaged probably misunderstands why he lost the debate. The real problem was that he was less up to speed on the arguments and counterarguments than Romney was. If Biden internalizes the Democratic conventional wisdom, he will be more engaged than Obama was — but it won’t help unless he is also better informed. An amped-up yet inadequate response can come across as bluster.

Via: Hot Air

Continue Reading... 

DHS Report On Immigration: Lowest Number Of Illegal Alien Arrests Since 1972…

(CNSNews.com) – The Department of Homeland Security’s 2011 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics was released last month, including figures that show that the number of illegal aliens apprehended in the United States was the lowest in 40 years.

The report shows (page 91, table 33) that in fiscal year 2011, the number of illegal aliens apprehended was 641,633 – at that time the lowest total apprehensions since 1972 when the number of illegal aliens apprehended was 505,949.

The report shows that the number of illegal aliens apprehended has steadily decreased over the course of the Obama administration, from 869,857 in fiscal year 2009 to 641,633 in fiscal year 2011.

The table includes the following totals for fiscal years 2008-2011:

2008: 1,043.863

2009: 869,857

2010: 752,329

2011: 641,633

The table also shows that from 1976 to 2008, the number of apprehensions ranged from 910,361 in 1980 to 1,814,729 in 2000.

The largest number of apprehensions during the Obama administration – 869,857 in fiscal year 2009 – which, at the time, was the lowest total since 1974 when 788,145 illegal aliens were apprehended.

Via: CNS News

Continue Reading...

Enrollment in Federal Social Welfare Programs Outpaces Job Growth in Last 4 Years

Enrollment in Food Stamps, Medicaid, and Disability Far Outpaces Job Growth in Last 4 Years

A new chart provided by the minority side of the Senate Budget Committee details the alarming fact that enrollment in federal social welfare programs like Food Stamps, Medicaid, and Disability have far outpaced job growth over the last four years. Here's the chart:

In terms of percentage growth, Food Stamp enrollment has jumped 65.2 percent over the last four years, Medicaid enrollment 19.3 percent, and Disability enrollment 17.6 percent. The "total number of employed people," according to the chart, has grown at a negative rate, -0.7 percent.

Via: The Weekly Standard

Continue Reading...

The Actor Who Created Big Bird Makes About $314,000 a Year

Even Big Bird has to make some money. The Sesame Workshop's 990 form for the 2010 tax year reveals that Caroll Spinney, the man behind the newsworthy yellow guy and Oscar the Grouch, made $314,072. That's the most recent form available at Guidestar, which covers the tax year ended June 30, 2011. At MSN Jonathan Berr writes that Spinney's salary shows that "like for-profit media companies, Sesame needs to pay top dollar to attract talent." Spinney has played the bird since the show began in 1969, though others have stepped into the role at times.

For a comparison in the world of children's television, the girl who voiced Dora the Explorer (and became embroiled in a legal tangle with Nickelodeon) made about $300,000 over three years, TMZ reported in 2010. Spinney, however, is a long-term resident on Sesame Street. 

Big Bird made national headlines last week when presidential candidate Mitt Romney invoked the character's during the debate. Now, to Sesame's chagrin, the Obama campaign is trying to make votes out of Romney's pledge to cut PBS funding. But Big Bird has a greater villain than Mitt Romney, Berr says—for instance, his for-profit competitors like Dora. Berr writes that "competition for the preschool market is tough and getting harder," and Sesame has had losses and layoffs. 

Via: The Atlantic Wire 

Continue Reading...

IBD/TIPP Poll: Romney Jumps To 5-Point Lead Over Obama, 48% – 43%…

IBD/TIPP 2012 Presidential Election
Daily Tracking Poll

Day 2: Oct. 10, 2012

Romney: +5.0

• Romney’s lead widened to 5 points from 2 points on Tuesday, as he continues to chip away at key Obama support.
• Romney’s edge among independents widened to 20 points from 18 just a day before.
• Obama’s lead among women narrowed from 10 points to 8 points.
• Romney also continues to make inroads among middle-class voters, moving from a 6-point lead against Obama with this group to a 10-point lead.
• The current data include only polls taken after Romney’s resounding debate win over Obama on Oct. 3.

	Obama	Romney	Not Sure
OVERALL	43.7%	48.7%	6.1%
REGION
Northeast	49%	42%	9%
Midwest	47%	47%	4%
South	40%	54%	5%
West	43%	46%	9%
AGE
18-44	50%	44%	6%
45-64	40%	51%	7%
65+	37%	54%	5%
GENDER
Male	36%	57%	6%
Female	50%	42%	6%
RACE
White	34%	58%	7%
Black/Hispanic	82%	13%	3%
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Under 30K	50%	44%	5%
30K-50K	46%	49%	4%
50-75K	41%	48%	11%
75K+	44%	51%	5%
PARTY
Democrats	86%	7%	5%
Republicans	3%	95%	1%
Ind./Other	34%	54%	12%
INVESTOR CLASS
Yes	44%	50%	6%
No	44%	47%	7%
AREA TYPE
Urban	48%	43%	7%
Suburban	47%	46%	6%
Rural	34%	58%	6%
WHITE
White men	28%	64%	6%
White women	39%	52%	7%
BLACK/HISPANIC
Black*	91%	6%	3%
Hispanic*	64%	30%	4%
WOMEN
Single women	58%	37%	5%
Married women	43%	47%	8%
EDUCATION
High School	41%	47%	9%
Some College	42%	52%	5%
College Degree+	46%	48%	5%
IDEOLOGY
Conservative	18%	76%	5%
Moderate	54%	37%	8%
Liberal	89%	4%	5%
HOUSEHOLD DESCRIPTION
Upper/Upper Middle	52%	41%	7%
Middle	41%	51%	5%
Working	40%	50%	8%
Lower*	50%	45%	6%
RELIGION
Protestant	35%	60%	5%
Catholic	43%	46%	6%
Other Christian	40%	56%	3%
Jewish*	47%	25%	28%
Other*	51%	36%	11%
None	67%	27%	5%
UNION HOUSEHOLD
Yes	59%	33%	6%
No	41%	51%	6%
2008 VOTE
Obama	83%	9%	8%
McCain	2%	94%	4%

Polling period: 10/4 - 10/9
Margin of Error: +/- 3.5%
Sample Size: 757 likely voters (identified from 873 registered voters with party affiliation of 39% Dem, 31% GOP, 30% Ind.)
Methodology: Traditional telephone methodology using Random Digit Dial (RDD) landline and cell phone samples

Via: IBD

Continue Reading...