Graham Joins Vitter in Fight over Hill’s Carve-Out

It’s a contest over which senator is the most unpopular with his colleagues. Surprisingly, it’s probably not Ted Cruz. The most likely winner is David Vitter of Louisiana, who is mounting a campaign to end government subsidies for congressional health coverage. Polls show that 92 percent of voters dislike the idea of a special Obamacare privilege for anyone on Capitol Hill.

Yesterday, Vitter won an influential new recruit: GOP senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Graham told NRO’s Bob Costa that he will “object” to any pending fiscal deal unless the Senate at the same time votes on Vitter’s proposal.

“We’re down to stopping bad things, and the only bad thing at this point that we can really push on is the [Office of Personnel Management] rule,” he told Costa, referring to the rule that allows subsidies for Congress and its staff. “At this point, I’m not sure if we’re going to get it, so I’m going to object on any deal until I get that up-or-down vote. That’s only fair, and I believe the American people will be with me.”

Graham knows Vitter’s amendment may be the best leverage the Republicans have in any budget-deal negotiations. Democrats have personally and passionately appealed to Graham not to throw up a poison pill such as the Vitter amendment. But Graham says the Senate Democrats and President Obama “have moved the goal posts on a reasonable deal.”

Throwing the Vitter proposal into the mix is hugely unpopular with Capitol Hill veterans of both parties. Harry Reid, the majority leader, has slammed Vitter as “an anarchist” and “mean-spirited.”

Vitter responds that the original 2010 Obamacare law barred members of Congress and their personal staffs from continuing to get employer subsidies — worth $5,000 for individual policies and $11,000 or more for family coverage — because they would be buying coverage from the health-care exchanges, where employer subsidies are banned.

Via: NRO

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Macy's to open on Thanksgiving, breaking 155 year old tradition

Macy's is breaking a 155 year old tradition of staying closed on Thanksgiving.
This year it will open some of its stores at 8:00 pm on the holiday.
         
The change will reportedly only effect locations in New York and Chicago.
         
In the past, the department store has opened at midnight following Thanksgiving.
         
Recent surveys show 91 percent of Americans plan on looking for those Black Friday deal.

Via: MyFoxDC

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Obama Knew This: Latinos Like Obamacare

Watch what they do: Jonathan Alter’s recent book The Center Holds recounts President Obama’s attempt to mobilize Latino voters in 2012 after early focus groups were discouraging. They revealed that “Latinos liked the president personally but didn’t think he was effective. … They were largely unfamiliar with achievements like the auto bailout and the health care bill …” How to respond? Not, it turns out, by talking about immigration reform:

“The best way out of that hole was to educate Latino voters about Obamacare, which was immensely popular when Latinos learned the details.  The pitch was much more direct than in Obama’s English-language media. Certain families, the Spanish-language ads said, “will receive economic help from the government to pay for quality [health] insurance. If the election was partly about the role of government in America life, Chicago was betting that Latinos favored a big role.“

The bet was hugely successful, of course, which raises the question: Are Latino voters “natural Republicans,” as we’re often told … or natural Californians? The answer is pretty obvious (as almost any Democratic campaign strategist will admit, at least after a few drinks). …

Via: Daily Caller

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RYAN: WE DEMANDED INDIVIDUAL MANDATE DELAY ON OBAMACARE

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), chair of the House Budget Committee, told conservative talk radio host Charlie Sykes Monday morning that House Republicans had demanded a one-year delay in Obamacare's individual mandate, along with an end to congressional exemptions, while offering a six-week debt ceiling hike to allow room for negotiations on broader budget issues. The offer was made to President Barack Obama last Thursday.

President Obama, said Ryan, listened but declined to respond. In the meantime, Ryan said, it became clear the president was negotiating separately to obtain more favorable terms from Senate Republicans, trying to "jam" the House Republicans in the process. Ryan told Sykes that Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had "overplayed their hand" in attempting to prolong the crisis to maximize political damage to Republicans.

Ryan described the delay to the individual mandate as an "obvious" step to take, given that technical issues with the Obamacare exchanges might prevent the mandate from being enforced at all. "We could have spent the weekend putting an agreement together that says we're gonna deal with the debt, we're gonna deal with this economy, and we're gonna fix these big flaws in Obamacare, or at least give people delays in these penalties."

Instead, he said, the President and his party had declined, believing that they had a "partisan advantage." In response to new demands from Democrats to cancel the sequester cuts in the Budget Control Act of 2011, Ryan declared: "We are not going to give on these spending numbers." He said that there were some areas of agreement on changes to entitlements, but that Democrats wanted to spend more money and preserve Obamacare.

Via: Breitbart

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Obamacare ‘navigator’ in Kansas has outstanding arrest warrant

A woman with an outstanding warrant for her arrest is currently serving as an Obamacare “navigator” in Lawrence, Kansas.

Rosilyn Wells — the Director of Outreach and Enrollment for the Heartland Community Health-care Center (HCHC) – is “the only full-time Affordable Care Act navigator in Lawrence,” according to the Lawrence Journal-World.

Wells was certified as an Obamacare navigator despite her financial history, which includes a bankruptcy in 2003, a 2007 civil charge from a local check cashing business called Midwest Checkrite for writing a bad check, being more than $1700 behind on her state tax bill, and having an outstanding arrest warrant in nearby Shawnee County. Wells lives and works in Douglass County.

Reached by phone, The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office would not elaborate on the specific charges related to Wells’ arrest warrant.

Navigators are creations of the federal government and they are paid to work closely with consumers — and their personal information — to help them navigate the newly-created Obamacare exchanges.

The Obamacare navigator program has fallen under heavy criticism for its privacy pitfalls, with the House Oversight Committee issuing a report only two weeks ago which warned that navigators would not be properly vetted to protect consumers.

The report pointed out navigators would have access to all sorts of personal data.

“[T]he main concern for consumers is the heightened risk of identity theft and financial loss from a poorly managed outreach campaign,” the Oversight Committee report said. “Navigators and Assisters will come into contact with a plethora of personally identifiable information (PII), including an applicant’s Social Security number, date of birth and income, as well as the PII of everyone in an applicant’s household.”

Via: Daily Caller

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