22 House Republicans Support 'Clean' Senate Bill; 17 Needed to Pass

Twenty-two Republicans support a "clean" resolution backed by the Obama administration to end the federal shutdown and continue funding Obamacare, The Washington Post reported

For the Senate-amended continuing resolution to pass, 217 House members would have to vote in favor; if all 200 House Democrats vote for it, 17 Republicans would also need to support it. So far, they've passed that number by five, according to the Post tally.

The House had passed legislation that would temporarily fund the government and delay the implementation of Obamacare's individual mandate.

Urgent: Should GOP Stick to Its Guns on Obamacare? Vote Here. 

At least three Republicans are leaning toward supporting the Senate's bill, the Post reports. They are Reps. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia; Rodney Davis of Illinois; Leonard Lance of New Jersey, and Steve Womack of Arkansas.

The Post says 207 Republicans would vote against the bill, including several who have recently changed their minds.

GOP Rep. Randy Forbes of Virginia was quoted in The Virginian-Pilot earlier this month supporting the clean bill — known as a continuing resolution, or CR. But on Tuesday, Forbes told the Post that the newspaper had "misrepresented" his comments.

A Forbes spokesman told The Washington Post the congressman "would not support the CR as amended by the Senate and he would need to read any other iteration of a proposal providing full funding for the government before he could say where he stands on it.”
 
Via: Newsmax

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CBS News Blasts ObamaCare: 'The Website’s Launch Has Been Nothing Short of Disastrous'

The folks at CBS News are clearly unhappy with how ObamaCare is going.

After reporting on a Dallas man that tried for a week to sign up without any success on Tuesday's Evening News, CBS This Morning Wednesday featured a segment tearing the program apart with Jan Crawford saying "the website’s launch has been nothing short of disastrous" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

NORAH O’DONNELL, HOST: And Congress gets a status report this morning on the Affordable Care Act. The Healthcare.gov website opened more than a week ago. While millions of Americans have tried to sign up, but only a handful have been able to register for insurance because of problems with the website. It keeps shutting down. Well the House Oversight committee wants to know why. Jan Crawford is on Capitol Hill. Jan, good morning.

JAN CRAWFORD: Good morning, Norah. Good morning, Charlie. You know, administration officials who are in charge of implementing and enforcing all of this are going to be on the hot seat here on Capitol Hill this morning. I talked to chairman Darrell Issa last night, and he told me he plans to ask how and why this chaos could have happened, and he’s not the only one talking about the disarray.

A number of late night comedians were then shown making jokes about ObamaCare’s implementation.

Via: Newsbusters

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Tennessee TV Station Can’t Find Anyone Who Has Successfully Signed Up for Obamacare

BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff

October 9, 2013 9:45 am

WATE reports Tennessee’s Project Access, the group designated to help people enroll, still has not been able to get anyone through the entire sign-up process.

Via: WFB

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Credit scores impact new Affordable Care Act insurance plans

Many people signing up for health care in Florida through the Affordable Care Act have been shocked when they have to give proof of their credit score before they finish the process.

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Anne Packham, one of many people licensed by the state to help people navigate the government's website, said on Tuesday that the credit check occurs so providers can make an educated decision about who to insure.

"If someone is defaulting on all of their bills they may not want to have them as part of their health plan," said Packham, the lead Navigator in Florida.

Participants with low credit scores could end up paying higher premiums, according to Packham, who said that ultimately the insurance company makes the call.

The government website healthcare.gov has regularly been bogged down, oftentimes showing users a message saying, "We have a lot of visitors on the site."

"We have a mixed bag right now," said Packham, referring to users being able to successfully navigate the site.

Via: Orlando WKMG

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Bush had higher approval rating than Obama at this point in his presidency

President George W. Bush held a higher approval rating in October of his fifth year in office than President Obama.

Obama’s approval rating stands at 37 percent with a 53 percent disapproval rating, according to an Associated Press/GfK poll released Wednesday October 9.

At the same point in the first year of his second term, Bush held a higher approval rating even as he battled criticisms of his handling of weeks-old Hurricane Katrina.

Bush held a 39 percent approval rating in an AP/Ipsos poll conducted between October 3-5, 2005. He also registered at 39 percent in an October 13-16 Gallup poll before gaining two points to clock in at 42 percent between October 21-23.

Bush held a 40 percent approval rating in an October 12-24 Pew poll.

Obama, still reeling from his administration’s IRS and NSA surveillance scandals, is clearly not escaping the government shutdown unscathed.

But at least Obama’s bully pulpit rhetoric seems to be working. 63 percent of Americans blame Republicans for refusing to cooperate with Obama, while 52 percent note Obama’s lack of cooperation.

Via: Daily Caller

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Labor Stains

A new American Federation of Teachers financial report shows that the union has not modified its anti-child and anti-conservative stance.

Courtesy of education writer RiShawn Biddle, we get to peek at the latest edition of the American Federation of Teachers LM-2, a yearly financial report detailing union income and spending.

No surprises. Just the same old same old blatant hypocrisy, anti-education reform agenda and leftist political bent.

We’ll start with AFT president Rhonda (please call me Randi) Weingarten who pulled in a cool $543,150 in total compensation over the last year, all the while railing against the rich because she claims they don’t pay their fair share of taxes. Of course this is the same Randi Weingarten who moved out of New York City in 2012 so that she could escape paying an additional $30,000 in city income taxes.

Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t begrudge anyone using any legal tactics to avoid paying abusive taxes, but when a person who regularly whines that the rich “should pay their fair share” does it, the hypocrisy meter goes well into the red zone. It’s also hypocritical because her one-percenter salary is paid by teachers who are forced to join her union in just about every school district that AFT represents. Throughout ancient times, this kind of coerced fealty was required by powerful states and empires. “Tribute” was forced on people around the world, who had to pay up as a way of submitting – or showing allegiance – to the government. Tribute was picked up in essence in the last century by the Mafia as a means of establishing and maintaining turf. The teachers unions are just the latest bunch to adapt this repulsive practice as a way to line the pockets of the dons – I mean union leaders.

When it comes to political spending, AFT doesn’t skimp. Their anti-education reform spending and other political outlay is reported to be about $32 million. I say “reported to be” because unions have been known to – how you say – lie about their spending. For example, according to teacher union watchdog Mike Antonucci, in the 2008 election cycle, the National Education Association

dropped $260,000 on one of the many front groups operated by Craig Varoga and George Rakis, two men Fox News identifies as “Democratic Party strategists.”  

Readers of this blog will not find such news surprising, but if you delve through the pertinent EIA list of NEA donations to advocacy groups, you won’t find this money. That’s because the expenditures are listed in NEA’s financial disclosure report as expenses for “media,” going to Independent Strategies, one of Rakis and Varoga’s groups, for “generalized message, program expenses,” or “membership communication development,” or “legislative policy development.” Without further information, it was difficult to justify classifying Independent Strategies as an advocacy group. This news, however, suggests NEA’s advocacy spending extends well beyond the easily identifiable groups.

Via: California Political Review

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DEM CONGRESSMEN, AMNESTY ACTIVISTS ARRESTED IN IMMIGRATION PROTEST

Democratic Reps. Charles Rangel, Luis Gutierrez, Keith Ellison, Joseph Crowley, Al Green, and John Lewis, along with several other pro-amnesty activists, union members, and other left-wing protesters, got themselves arrested on purpose on Tuesday afternoon in a statement made in support of comprehensive immigration reform.

Only a few hundred demonstrators participated in the part of the rally that led to the arrests, while several thousand rallied on the National Mall earlier in the day.

NBC's Washington, D.C. affiliate reports 200 were arrested on scene while a couple hundred activists cheered the demonstrators on from the sidewalks on both sides of First Street between Maryland Avenue Southwest and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest. Officers broke out barricades to keep activists on the sidewalk, as AFL-CIO and other union organizers wearing orange vests with their organizations’ namesakes emblazoned on the back organized the crowd. 

Those lining the streets would cheer and chant things like “Yes we can!” and “Si Se Puede!” whenever another person volunteered to be arrested and whenever they were taken in groups into police transport units to be taken to the authorities for processing.

Via: Breitbart

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[CARTOON] Hurry, Hurry, Sign Up for Obamacare!

Ladies and gentlemen, step right up!

President Obama has a deal for you… sign up for Obamacare before this hot introductory offer expires.

Sign up now—before the fees for non-compliance kick in.

Sign up now—before you see the real cost of your new insurance premiums.

Sign up now—before your current health plan disappears.

Sign up now—don’t read the fine print.

If you aren’t buying what he’s selling, please share this cartoon with your friends.

While Washington is in disarray and the media continue to spin distractions, conservatives need to stay the course and fight to defund Obamacare

Via: The Foundry

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Occupy America! Park Visitors Storm the Barrycades by Michelle Malkin

Could this be the end of Monument Syndrome? Across the country, ordinary Americans are rising up in revolt against the old Washington tactic of closing public parks and memorials during selective government "shutdowns" to score political points. Tax-paying tourists are tossing off the orange traffic cones and "Barrycades." Enough is enough.

The movement started with waves of World War II veterans who flew to D.C. last week as part of the Honor Flight Network. (The nonprofit group brings our surviving heroes to visit the memorials that honor their service and sacrifice.) The vets and volunteers breached the fences last week, exposing the tone-deaf tactics of President Obama's Spite House. Honor Flight visits continue this week, and more vets vowed to defy the cynical closures.

They are not alone. At Gettysburg National Military Park, tourists broke through barriers and posed for pictures on the battlefields with notes reading, "Catch us if you can." One visitor reported that motorists formed impromptu caravans as rangers chased them. "Strength in numbers," they tweeted.

At Mount Rushmore and in the Badlands of South Dakota, families barreled over hazard cones. Their photos went viral on Facebook. In Wisconsin, GOP Gov. Scott Walker defied the National Park Service and opened state parks that Obama-crats wanted closed because they receive some federal dollars. At the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Missouri, a group of 20 protesters defied threats of arrest to enter the park.

Via: Townhall

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AP Poll: Congress at 5% Job Approval, Obama at 37%

Americans are fed up with the way Washington is managed. According to the latest Associated Press-GfK released Wednesday, most Americans blame the Republicans in Congress for forcing an unnecessary government shutdown, but majorities also heap blame on President Barack Obama and Democrats. 

The AP/GfK poll found that 62 percent of Americans blame Congressional Republicans for the shutdown. “About half said Obama or the Democrats in Congress bear much responsibility,” the AP release read.

RELATED: Poll: Majorities Disapprove of Obama, GOP, Democrats Handling of Budget Negotiations

Similarly, President Obama has lost a significant amount of public support for how he is performing in office over the course of the shutdown. “Most Americans disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job, the poll suggests, with 53 percent unhappy with his performance and 37 percent approving of it,” AP reported.

Only 5 percent of Americans approve of the way Congress is doing its job. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), blamed by many for creating the conditions which led to the shutdown, is viewed unfavorably by 32 percent of the country. Only 17 percent of the nation holds a favorable opinion of the junior Texas senator.

Via: Mediaite

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