Cleveland Tea Party

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Reid wavering on Health Care Reform Time Frame

Caught leaving a private meeting with his fellow Democrats, Sen. Harry Reid began backtracking on the Senate passing any health care reform legislation this year....

The Senate Democratic leader indicated Tuesday that lawmakers may not complete health care legislation this year, missing President Barack Obama's deadline on his signature issue and pushing debate into a congressional election year.

Asked if he could pass health care this year, Reid said: "We're not going to be bound by any timelines. We need to do the best job we can for the American people. We want quality legislation, and we're going to do that."

Reid said he was awaiting a final analysis of the legislation from the Congressional Budget office, a time-consuming process that makes it unlikely the Senate would begin debate before Veterans' Day, Nov. 11. With scores of amendments, Senate debate could take weeks. (Yahoo News)

For all the people that think their efforts of making calls and writing letters/faxes are for nothing... you are now seeing the effect they are having --- they are causing indecison within the democrat Senators. This can be considered a small daily victories.

Understand something..... our elected officials are very good at one thing -- staying in power. Self-preservation is one of the strongest character traits a politician has, so much in fact, that most of the time there is no room left for integrity. Making them feel vulnerable is the key in winning this battle. Our letters, faxes, emails, etc... are the tools we use. They may support every single word in the Senate bull, but will not sacrifice their relection and support a government take over of health care.

Reids backtracking on PBO's timetable shows the senate bill is in question. Again, our calls, letters, faxes, emails & visits raises these questions. With our continued pressure, pending the CBO report, we may very well get a standing 8-count for the year.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Make or Break Time with Health Care

Fellow Patriots,

This week is make or break week with the government takeover of health care in the House of Representatives.

It is our understanding that Speaker Pelosi is working to bring the bill to the floor of the House on Friday or Saturday of this week. She would not be setting that as a deadline if she were not fairly confident that she can line up the votes.

Additionally, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is working to line up 60 votes so that the bill may be brought to the Senate Floor. The Senate cannot bring a bill to the floor as easily as the House. In the Senate, the bill must have unanimous consent to be brought to a vote (which this one will not) or there will have to be a motion to proceed. When the motion to proceed is announced, objections will occur. After this Senator Reid will file a cloture motion, which will attempt to stop debate and actually allow vote on his original motion to proceed. For the cloture motion to win, there must be 60 votes.

As you saw last week in our emails, Tea Party Patriots has been working on an Operation House Call program. We had an incredible number of members step up to the plate and they are going to be in DC this week. Then Friday afternoon, we received word that Congresswoman Michele Bachman would be making an announcement on Friday about another House Call program on Thursday. Many of the original TPP Operation House Call Members are going to stay through Thursday.

With all of this in mind, here is this week's Passion to Action Weekly To Do List. Keep pulling from your reserves. Right now, we have to make sure Congress knows that we do not want the government to takeover our health care!

Passion to Action Weekly To Do List

The phone calls, emails, faxes, and protests have been working. While it is hard work, please keep up the effort.

Monday:

TPP Members will be traveling to DC.
Watch for an email announcement about a new Tea Party Patriots project to come late Monday. This project is going to be powerful and important so be sure to check back for it.
Read below about our efforts this week. If you cannot go to DC but you are able to go to your local Congressional District Office on Thursday at 12:00 noon eastern time (especially if you are in or near one of the targeted Congressman's districts), plan and list a protest outside of their office for Thursday at 12:00 noon eastern time. To enter the protest on http://teapartypatriots.org, login, then click My Account from the top right hand corner, then selects Add Event on the right hand sidebar.
If you have not written a letter to the targeted Senators and Congressmen, take the time to do so today. It does take time to do this, especially when it is a letter you are writing from your heart rather than copying and pasting text. These individual letters truly make a difference and we encourage you to write one and fax it to us at 678-302-5377. We will hand deliver it for you.

Tuesday:

Tea Party Patriots members will begin Operation House Call circulating throughout the Senate Office Buildings beginning at 1:30. They will deliver the faxes you have sent to the targeted Senators. Additionally, they will tell staff members why they are opposed to government takeover of our health care.
We need you to back up their efforts by calling all the targeted Senators today. We especially need the phone lines to begin lighting up at 1:30 eastern time and continuing until 6:00. The targeted Senators phone numbers (including local phone numbers) are listed below.
If you did not originally plan to attend but have decided you want to make the trip, please email Diana Reimer (philatppatriots@gmail.com) and Debbie Dooley (debbie0040@yahoo.com) so they can get the details to you.

Wednesday:

Tea Party Patriots members will continue Operation House Call circulating throughout the House Office Buildings beginning at 10:30 am. They will deliver the faxes you have sent to the targeted House members. Additionally, they will tell staff members why they are opposed to government takeover of our health care.
We need you to back up their efforts by calling all the targeted Representatives today. We especially need the phone lines to begin lighting up at 10:30 eastern time and continuing until 6:00. The targeted Representative phone numbers (including local phone numbers) are listed below.

Thursday:

Tea Party Patriots members will continue Operation House Call by joining Congressman Michelle Bachman at 12:00 noon eastern time to make additional House Calls on Congress. We have groups that are coordinating caravans and chartered buses in many states including:
Delaware: Christy Shirley, delawaretaxteaparty@gmail.com
Georgia: Joy McGraw, jlmcgraw@aol.com
Illinois: Denise Cattoni, dcattoni@aol.com
Louisiana: Rob Gaudet, rob@teapartypatriots.org
New York (Central and Syracuse): Joanne Wilder, jwilder4@twcny.rr.com
Ohio: Tom Z., Info@PortageCountyTEAParty.com
Rhode Island: Ron L'Heureux, Ron@riteaparty.com
Texas: Rowlett Tea Party, info@rowlettteaparty.com
Virginia, James Spiess, jimspiess@gmail.com
If you cannot attend the House Call in DC, then attend the House Call at your local Congressman's Local District Office. These protests will be planned quickly. Be sure to list the protest on our site so others can find out about it. The time for these protests is 12:00 noon eastern/9:00 AM pacific. This way they will correspond with House Call in DC. As you are protesting, send 1 person into the office at a time to tell the staff members how you feel about government takeover of our health care.
If you cannot attend in DC or at a local District Office, then call and fax the targeted Congressmen again today. We must continue to keep the pressure on this week.

Friday:

The vote is expected to take place on the House Floor on Friday or Saturday. We will do our best to keep you updated about any developments without overwhelming your inbox.
Call your Congressman and your 2 Senators to tell them why you do not want government takeover of health care. Call their local offices and the DC offices.
Call the local offices and district offices of the targeted Congressmen again today.

Targeted Senators

We are including the DC office phone numbers and fax numbers below in case you would also like to call and fax directly to the Senators. If you fax your letters to: 678-302-5377 we will hand deliver them.

Sen. Michael F Bennet, Colorado DC Office Phone Number: 202-224-5852, DC Fax Number: 202-228-5036

Sen. Ben Nelson, NebraskaDC Office Number: 202-224-6551, DC Fax Number: 202-228-0012

Sen. Mary Landrieu, Louisiana DC Office Phone Number: 202-224-5824, DC Fax Number: 202-224-9735

Sen. Mark Pryor, Arkansas DC Office Phone Number: 202-224-2353, DC Fax Number: 202-228-0908

Sen. Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas DC Office Phone Number: 202-224-4843, DC Fax Number: 202-228-1371

Sen. Robert Byrd, West Virginia DC Office Phone Number: 202-224-3954, DC Fax Number: 202-228-0002

Sen. Jim Webb, Virginia DC Office Phone Number: 202-224-4024, DC Fax Number: 202-228-6363

Sen. Mark Warner, Virginia DC Office Phone Number: 202-224-2023, DC Fax Number: 202-224-6295

Sen. Jon Tester, Montana DC Office Phone Number: 202-224-2644, DC Fax Number: 202-224-8594

Sen. Joe Lieberman, Connecticut DC Office Phone Number: 202-224-4041, DC Fax Number: 202-224-9750

Sen. Mark Begich, Alaska DC Office Phone Number: 202-224-3004, DC Fax Number: 202-224-2354

Sen. Evan Bayh, Indiana DC Office Phone Number: 202-224-5623, DC Fax Number: 202-228-1377

Targeted House of Representative Members

Rep. Steve Driehaus, Ohio, 1st

http://driehaus.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-2216, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-3012

Local Office Number: (513) 684-2723, Local Fax Number: (513) 421-8722

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Ohio, 9th

http://www.kaptur.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-4146, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-7711

Local Office Number: (419) 259-7500, Local Fax Number: (419) 255-9623

Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio 10th

http://kucinich.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-5871

Local Office Number: (216) 228-8850

Rep. John Boccieri, Ohio, 16th

http://boccieri.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-3876, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-3059

Local Office Number: (330) 489-4414, Local Fax Number: (330) 489-4448

Rep. Michael Arcuri, New York 24th

http://arcuri.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-3665, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-1891

Local Office Number: (315) 252-2777/2778, Local Fax Number: (315) 252-2779

Rep. Allen Boyd, Florida, 2nd

http://boyd.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-5235, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-5615

Local Office Number: (850) 561-3979, Local Fax Number: (850) 681-2902

Rep. Christopher Carney, Pennsylvania, 16th

http://carney.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-3731, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-9594

Local Office Number: (570) 585-9988, Local Fax Number: (570) 585-9977

Rep. Gerald "Gerry" Connolly, Virginia, 11th

http://connolly.house.gov/index.html

DC Office Number: (202) 225-1492 DC Fax Number: (202) 225-3071

Local Office Number: (703) 256-3071, Local Fax Number: (703) 354-1284

Rep. Henry Cuellar, Texas 28th

http://cuellar.house.gov/

DC Office Number: 202-225-1640, DC Fax Number: 202-225-1641

Local Office Number: (210) 271-2851, Local Fax Number: (210) 277-6671

Rep. Chet Edwards, Texas, 17th

http://edwards.house.gov/

DC Office Number: 202-225-6105, DC Fax Number: Fax: 202-225-0350

Local Office Number: (979) 691-8797, Local Fax Number: (979) 691-8939

Rep. Brad Ellsworth, Indiana, 8th

http://www.ellsworth.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-4636, DC Office Fax: (202) 225-3284

Local Office Number: (812) 465-6484, Local Fax Number: (812) 422-4761

Rep. Bob Etheridge, North Carolina, 2nd

http://etheridge.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-4531

Local Office Number: (919) 829-9122

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Arizona, 8th

http://giffords.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-2542, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-0378

Local Office Number: (520) 881-3588, Local Fax Number: (520) 322-9490

Rep. Deborah "Debbie" Halvorson, Illinois, 11th

http://halvorson.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-3635, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-3521

Local Office Number: (815) 726-4998, Local Fax Number: (815) 726-8024

Rep. Paul W. Hodes, New Hampshire, 2nd

http://hodes.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-5206, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-2946

Local Office Phone: (603) 223-9814, Local Fax Number: (603) 223-9819

Rep. Jay Inslee, Washington, 1st

http://www.house.gov/inslee/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-6311, DC Fax Number: (202) 226-1606

Local Office Number: (360) 598-2342, Local Fax Number: (360) 598-3650

Rep. Paul Kanjorski, Pennsylvania, 11th

http://kanjorski.house.gov/

DC Office Number: 202-225-6511, DC Fax Number: 202-225-0764

Local Office Number: 570-825-2200, Local Fax Number: 570-825-8685

Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, Arizona, 1st

http://kirkpatrick.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-2315, DC Fax Number: (202) 226-9739

Local Office Number: (928) 226-6914, Local Fax Number: (928) 226-2876

Rep. Ron Klein, Florida, 22nd

http://www.klein.house.gov/index.html

DC Office Number: (202) 225.3026, DC Fax Number: (202) 225.8398

Local Office Number: (561) 544-6910, Local Fax Number: (561) 544-2864

Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, Florida, 24th

http://www.kosmas.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-2706, DC Fax Number: (202) 226-6299

Local Office Number: (407) 208-1106, Local Fax Number: (407) 208-1108

Rep. Jim Langevin, Rhode Island, 2nd

http://langevin.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-2735, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-5976

Local Office Number: (401) 732-9400, Local Fax Number: (401) 737-2982

Rep. Stephen Lynch, Massachusetts, 9th

http://www.house.gov/lynch/

DC Office Number: 202-225-8273, DC Fax Number: 202-225-3984

Local Office Number: 617-428-2000, Local Office Fax: 617-428-2011

Rep. Daniel B. Maffei, New York, 25th

http://maffei.house.gov/

DC Fax Number: (202) 225-3701, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-4042

Local Office Number: (315) 423-5657, Local Fax Number: (315) 423-5669

Rep. Ed Markey, Massachusetts, 7th

http://markey.house.gov/

DC Office Number: 202-225-2836

Local Office Number: 781-396-2900

Rep. Alan B. Mollohan, West Virginia, 1st

http://www.mollohan.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-4172, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-7564

Local Office Number: (304) 292-3019, Local Fax Number: (304) 292-3027

Rep. John Murtha, Pennsylvania, 12th

http://www.murtha.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-2065, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-5709

Local Office Number: (814) 535-2642, Local Fax Number: (814) 539-6229

Rep. Glenn C. Nye III, Virginia, 2nd

http://nye.house.gov/index.html

DC Office Number: (202) 225-4215, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-4218

Local Office Number: (757) 326-6201, Fax: (757) 326-6209

Rep. Tom Perriello, Virginia, 5th

http://perriello.house.gov/index.html

DC Office Number: (202) 225-4711, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-5681

Local Office Number: (434) 293-9631, Local Fax Number: (434) 293-9632

Rep. Gary Peters, Michigan, 9th

http://peters.house.gov/index.html

DC Office Number: (202) 225-5802, DC Fax Number: (202) 226-2356

Local Office Number: (248) 273-4227, Local Fax Number: (248) 273-4704

Rep. Nick Rahall, West Virginia, 3rd

http://www.rahall.house.gov/index.html

DC Office Number: (202) 225-3452

Local Office Number: (304) 325-6222

Rep. Laura Richardson, California, 37th

http://richardson.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-7924, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-7926

District Office Number: (202) 225-7924, District Fax Number: (202) 225-7926

Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, Texas 23rd

http://www.rodriguez.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-4511, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-2237

Local Office Number: (830) 757-8398, Local Fax Number: (830) 752-1893

Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, Maryland, 2nd

http://dutch.house.gov/

DC Office Number: 202-225-3061, DC Fax Number: 202-225-3094

Local Office Number: 410-628-2701, Local Fax Number: 410-628-2708

Rep. Linda Sanchez, California, 39th

http://lindasanchez.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-6676

Local Office Number: (562) 860-5050

Rep. Kurt Schrader, Oregon, 5th

http://schrader.house.gov/index.html

DC Office Number: (202) 225-5711, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-5699

Local Office Number: (503) 588-9100, Local Fax Number: (503) 588-5517

Rep. David Scott, Georgia, 13th

http://davidscott.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-2939, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-4628

Local Office Number: (770) 210-5073, Local Fax Number: (770) 210-5673

Rep. Adam Smith, Washington, 9th

http://adamsmith.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-8901

Local Office Number: (253) 593-6600, Local Fax Number: (253) 593-6776

Rep. Peter Visclosky, Indiana, 1st

http://www.house.gov/visclosky/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-2461, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-2493

Local Office Number: (219) 795-1844, DC Fax Number: (219) 795-1850

Rep. David Wu, Oregon, 1st

http://www.house.gov/wu/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-0855, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-9497

Local Office Number: (503) 326-2901, Local Fax Number: (503) 326-5066

Rep. John Adler, New Jersey 3rd

http://adler.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-4765, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-0778

Local Office Number: (732) 608-7235, Local Fax Number: (732) 608-7268

Rep. Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania 4th

http://www.altmire.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-2565, DC Fax Number: (202) 226-2274

Local Office Number: (724) 378-0928, Local Fax Number: (724) 378-6171

Rep. Brian Baird, Washington 3rd

http://www.baird.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-3536, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-2478

Local Office Number: (360) 695-6292, Local Fax Number: (360) 695-6197

Rep. John Barrow, Georgia 12th

http://www.barrow.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-2823, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-3377

Local Office Number: (706) 722-4494, Local Fax Number: (706) 722-4496

Rep. Melissa Bean, Illinois 8th

http://www.house.gov/bean/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-3711, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-7830

Local Office Number: (847) 517-2927, Local Fax Number: (847) 517-2931

Rep. Marion Berry, Arkansas 1st

http://www.house.gov/berry/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-4076, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-5602

Local Office Number: (870) 972-4600, Local Fax Number: (870) 972-4605

Rep. Rick Boucher, Virginia 9th

http://www.boucher.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-3861, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-0442

Local Office Number: (276) 628-1145

Rep. Dennis Cardoza, California 18th

http://www.house.gov/cardoza/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-6131, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-0819

Local Office Number: (209) 383-4455, Local Fax Number: (209) 726-1065

Rep. Travis Childers, Mississippi 1st

http://childers.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-4306, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-3549

Local Office Number: (662) 841-8808, Local Fax Number: (662) 841-8845

Rep. Jim Costa, California 20th

http://www.house.gov/costa/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-3341, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-9308

Local Office Number: (559) 495-1620, Local Fax Number: (559) 495-1027

Rep. Artur Davis, Alabama 7th

http://www.house.gov/arturdavis/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-2665, DC Fax Number: (202) 226-9567

Local Office Number: (205) 752-5380, Local Fax Number: (205) 752-5899

Rep. Joe Donnelly, Indiana 2nd

http://donnelly.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-3915, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-6798

Local Office Number: (574) 288-2780, Local Fax Number: (574) 288-2825

Rep. Parker Griffith, Alabama 5th

http://griffith.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-4801, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-4392

Local Office Number: (256) 551-0190, Local Fax Number: (256) 551-0194

Rep. Baron Hill, Indiana 9th

http://baronhill.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-5315, DC Fax Number: (202) 226-6866

Local Office Number: (812) 288-3999, Local Fax Number: (812) 288-3873

Rep. Steve Kagen, Wisconsin 8th

http://kagen.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-5655, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-5729

Local Office Number: (920) 437-1954, Local Fax Number: (920) 437-1978

Rep. Daniel Lipinski, Illinois 3rd

http://www.lipinski.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-5701, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-1012

Local Office Number: (312) 886-0481, Local Fax Number: (773) 767-9395

Rep. Jim Marshall, Georgia 8th

http://jimmarshall.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-6531, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-3013

Local Office Number: (478) 464-0255, Local Fax Number: (478) 464-0277

Rep. Jim Matheson, Utah 2nd

http://www.house.gov/matheson/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-3011, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-5638

Local Office Number: (801) 486-1236, Local Fax Number: (801) 486-1417

Rep. Michael E. McMahon, New York 13th

http://mcmahon.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-3371, DC Fax Number: (202) 226-1272

Local Office Number: (718) 351-1062, Local Fax Number: (718) 980-0768

Rep. Michael Michaud, Maine 2nd

http://michaud.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-6306, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-2943

Local Office Number: (207) 942-6935, Local Fax Number: (207) 942-5907

Rep. Harry Mitchell, Arizona 5th

http://mitchell.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-2190

Local Office Number: (480) 946-2411

Rep. Collin C. Peterson, Minnesota 7th

http://collinpeterson.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-2165, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-1593

Local Office Number: (218) 847-5056

Rep. Mike Ross, Arkansas 4th

http://ross.house.gov/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-3772, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-1314

Local Office Number: (870) 881-0681, Local Fax Number: (870) 881-0683

Rep. Ike Skelton, Missouri 4th

http://www.house.gov/skelton/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-2876

Local Office Number: (816) 228-4242

Rep. Bart Stupak, Michigan 1st

http://www.house.gov/stupak/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-4735, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-4744

Local Office Number: (906) 786-4504, Local Fax Number: (906) 786-4534

Rep. Gene Taylor, Mississippi 4th

http://www.house.gov/genetaylor/

DC Office Number: (202) 225-5772, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-7074

Local Office Number: (228) 864-7670, Local Fax Number: (228) 864-3099

You are the heart and soul of the Tea Party Patriot Movement. Thank you for promoting the causes of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free markets with us!

From your Tea Party Patriots National Coordinator Team

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Taking the Health Care Fight back to D.C.

Cleveland & Medina Tea Party Patriots

Action Alert

October 31, 2009

Couldn’t go to the 9/12 March?

Then join us in DC on Nov. 5th

It’s the rally cry that is being heard across the nation.

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has challenged patriots to storm Washington on Thursday, November 5th, and to stand with her on the steps of the Capitol. (See video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8_XcSHHxDk .) The mission is to stop the House from passing the government-run healthcare bill, H.R. 3962. The Tea Party Patriots, 9.12ers and other freedom-loving groups are heeding her call.

We are excited to announce that the Portage County Tea Party group is organizing busses to DC on Thursday, Nov. 5th. While the details for the busses are still being worked out, we know the cost will be $50 per person round-trip.

Leaving: Thursday morning around 4:00 a.m.

Returning: Thursday night around 11:00 p.m.

Location of departure/return: Coordinators for Portage County Tea Party have several ideas for locations in the Streetsboro and Ravenna areas, but it will take until Monday to get permission to use those staging areas. We will let you know as soon as the Portage Tea Party group has confirmed a location. Currently, there are no buses leaving from the Cleveland or Medina area. If we are able to fill a bus (50 people) from each location,Tom will arrange a bus to leave from the Cleveland and/or Medina area.

Reservations: People can reserve a seat on the bus, starting right now, by calling Tom at 330-474-3878. Please leave your name, telephone number and how many seats you need on the answering machine. When leaving your reservation, make sure to let Tom know you are from the Cleveland or Medina Tea Party Patriots and/or the Cleveland & Medina area.

Someone from the Portage Tea Party group will call you back with details. You can also sign up by sending an e-mail to Info@PortageCountyTEAParty.com.

Payment: Just bring a check to the bus to pay for your seat(s).

Not wanting to go via bus: For those who do not wish to ride one of the busses, we suggest that you carpool. Because the busses are going right to the Capitol building and because parking will be at a premium, we recommend that those carpooling go to Fairfax , Virginia and ride the train into the city.

According to our healthcare expert in DC, the House will most likely vote on the bill this Friday (Nov. 6th). We must act NOW. We will never have a better chance to stand up and defeat this bill. Join us in DC, and let’s show Congress that We the People are here to take our country back.

Thank you,

Roger, Glynn & Ralph
Cleveland Tea Party Patriots

Jeff & Amy
Medina Tea Party Patriots

House Health Care Reform Bill; Lawyers get a Treat / We get Tricked!

It has pretty well been established by both sides (or at least we thought both sides) that some sort of tort reform on medical malpractice suits needs to be addressed in any discussion about fixing some of the problems with the health care problems in this country.

For obvious reasons, one being campaign donations, the left has done nothing towards addressing this problem in any of their versions of the so-called health care reform bills they are pushing.

In fact, in the latest 1,900 page House version, not only has Speaker Pelosi left out any tort reform, it appears the PVC Princess is shilling for the trial lawyers.

From Big Government --

"...check out this juicy morsel to the trial lawyers (page 1431-1433 of the bill):
Section 2531, entitled “Medical Liability Alternatives,” establishes an incentive program for states to adopt and implement alternatives to medical liability litigation. [But]…… a state is not eligible for the incentive payments if that state puts a law on the books that limits attorneys’ fees or imposes caps on damages.
So, you can’t try to seek alternatives to lawsuits if you’ve actually done something to implement alternatives to lawsuits. Brilliant! The trial lawyers must be very happy today!

While there is debate over the details, it is clear that medical malpractive lawsuits have some impact on driving health care costs higher. There are likely a number of procedures that are done simply as a defense against future possible litigation. Recall this from the Washington Post:
“Lawmakers could save as much as $54 billion over the next decade by imposing an array of new limits on medical malpractice lawsuits, congressional budget analysts said today — a substantial sum that could help cover the cost of President Obama’s overhaul of the nation’s health system. New research shows that legal reforms would not only lower malpractice insurance premiums for medical providers, but would also spur providers to save money by ordering fewer tests and procedures aimed primarily at defending their decisions in court, Douglas Elmendorf, director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, wrote in a letter to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).”

Keep up them calls -- we can stop this tragedy in the making!

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Saturday, October 31, 2009

You Asked For Change?

Why did they changed the rules?

For the “Baby Boom” generation 2007 was a milestone producing the first “Boomer” to file for Social Security benefits. Kathleen Casey-Kirschling filed for early benefits in October 2007. What may have seemed an eternity back in 1943 finally became reality for the government’s “safety net”. Now, with each passing day, this ever-growing group of one hundred million (plus) have trained their sights on Uncle Sam’s Community Chest for the next 25 years.

If 2007 opened doors for the largest transition of producers to retirees then this shift might prove to re-write the definition of the “haves and have nots”. With some of America’s most productive and profitable years behind her, these boomers acquired more wealth than any preceding group in American history. Such shift of monumental proportion might leave a permanent ripple in the economic welfare of future producers begging the question, how will “Generation X, Y or Z” ever dream of catching up while saddled to produce for the boomer’s final years? Or is this cause for re-distributing the wealth?

From Social Security’s inception, nearly every Congress has sponsored a bill to “fix it”. So let’s establish the fact that Social Security was broken from the start! Now, the worse case scenario for Social Security would be for a super large group like the boomers to withdrawal from the work force crashing the system and exposing it for what it really is...broke!

This boomer asks...

How is it possible that on the brink of the boomer retirement era we find ourselves embroiled in a worldwide economic nightmare?
How is it possible that the likely outcome of this disaster will leave the boomers holding the bag thus denying them all that they worked for?
Why does it seem more than a coincidence that just when the boomers stand ready to cash-in, the government wants to open our community chest to the rest of the world?
What actions, if any, by our government could have led us down such a path?
How low would they sink to do it?

Some of the rules “they” changed along the way…

Permitted unqualified borrowers home loans at any cost. Others will pay for the foreclosure mess with decreased property values and increased insurance.
Permitted credit to unqualified consumers. From college students to seniors. We pay for this mess with higher rates.
Tend to and treat all indigents and illegal aliens in our hospitals. Others will pay higher insurance premiums to cover the costs. Increased health risks too?
Amnesty for illegal aliens. It may be your job and vote they take next.
Deny tort reform. Others will pay higher insurance premiums to cover the judgments.
Government health care. Take it or leave it – cradle to grave.
Abortion. It’s part of women’s health care. Hands off!
Eugenics. New government programs for those who just don’t measure up to the new standards of health.
Special needs baby. Dead baby
Congressional health care. Not for you…silly
Borrow, borrow, borrow. We’ll raise taxes!
Spend, spend, spend. Let the children pay for it.
Print, print, print. We’ll raise taxes - Let the children pay for it - Is anybody listening?
Decreasing treasuries with higher yields. Get the Chinese to buy more!
Leadership coming from the best tax cheats in the country. “Just a hiccup”.
Higher corporations taxes. Push more corporations overseas.
More people out of work in their seasoned years. Lowers final 10-year Social Security contribution thus lowers benefits.
More seasoned workers with reduced earnings in their later years. Lowers final 10-year Social Security contribution thus lowers benefits.

Can it be more than a coincidence? Or could it be that since Lynden Johnson’s “War on Poverty” the government has been working hard behind our backs? Once affirmative action policies were initiated we began living in the two Americas John Edwards spoke of. In America #1, people play according to the ever-changing rules, set forth by government bureaucrats while in America #2, people remain ever dependent on America #1 to keep playing by these new rules.

Posted by Mike Prokop

A Review of Taxes in the House Democrat Health Care Bill

From Americans for Tax Reform --

H.R. 3962, the "Affordable Health Care for America Act" has been introduced--all 1990 pages of it. This gargantuan beast contains thirteen new tax hikes. Here they all are, with description and page number (PDF version).

Employer Mandate Excise Tax (Page 275): If an employer does not pay 72.5 percent of a single employee’s health premium (65 percent of a family employee), the employer must pay an excise tax equal to 8 percent of average wages. Small employers (measured by payroll size) have smaller payroll tax rates of 0 percent (<$500,000), 2 percent ($500,000-$585,000), 4 percent ($585,000-$670,000), and 6 percent ($670,000-$750,000). Individual Mandate Surtax (Page 296): If an individual fails to obtain qualifying coverage, he must pay an income surtax equal to the lesser of 2.5 percent of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) or the average premium. MAGI adds back in the foreign earned income exclusion and municipal bond interest.

Medicine Cabinet Tax (Page 324): Non-prescription medications would no longer be able to be purchased from health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). Insulin excepted.

Cap on FSAs (Page 325): FSAs would face an annual cap of $2500 (currently uncapped).

Increased Additional Tax on Non-Qualified HSA Distributions (Page 326): Non-qualified distributions from HSAs would face an additional tax of 20 percent (current law is 10 percent). This disadvantages HSAs relative to other tax-free accounts (e.g. IRAs, 401(k)s, 529 plans, etc.)

Denial of Tax Deduction for Employer Health Plans Coordinating with Medicare Part D (Page 327): This would further erode private sector participation in delivery of Medicare services.

Surtax on Individuals and Small Businesses (Page 336): Imposes an income surtax of 5.4 percent on MAGI over $500,000 ($1 million married filing jointly). MAGI adds back in the itemized deduction for margin loan interest. This would raise the top marginal tax rate in 2011 from 39.6 percent under current law to 45 percent—a new effective top rate.

Excise Tax on Medical Devices (Page 339): Imposes a new excise tax on medical device manufacturers equal to 2.5 percent of the wholesale price. It excludes retail sales and unspecified medical devices sold to the general public.

Corporate 1099-MISC Information Reporting (Page 344): Requires that 1099-MISC forms be issued to corporations as well as persons for trade or business payments. Current law limits to just persons for small business compliance complexity reasons. Also expands reporting to exchanges of property.

Delay in Worldwide Allocation of Interest (Page 345): Delays for nine years the worldwide allocation of interest, a corporate tax relief provision from the American Jobs Creation Act.

Limitation on Tax Treaty Benefits for Certain Payments (Page 346): Increases taxes on U.S. employers with overseas operations looking to avoid double taxation of earnings.

Codification of the “Economic Substance Doctrine” (Page 349): Empowers the IRS to disallow a perfectly legal tax deduction or other tax relief merely because the IRS deems that the motive of the taxpayer was not primarily business-related.

Application of “More Likely Than Not” Rule (Page 357): Publicly-traded partnerships and corporations with annual gross receipts in excess of $100 million have raised standards on penalties. If there is a tax underpayment by these taxpayers, they must be able to prove that the estimated tax paid would have more likely than not been sufficient to cover final tax liability.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Tea Party Patriot Weekly Action Alert; House plans to unveil the House Health Care Legislation Today

Patriots,

We see the dismay our efforts are causing Senator Reid & Speaker Pelosi -- let's keep up the good work.

The following is from our national coordinators...

According to Politico, today, Thursday, October 29 at 10:00 am, the Democrats in the House plan to unveil the House Health Care Legislation. If you are within driving distance of DC and are able to attend with signs in opposition to government takeover of health care, we encourage you to do so.

The phone calls, emails, faxes, and protests have been working. While it is hard work, please keep up the effort. It appears that our efforts are working and right now the Senate does not have the 60 votes necessary to end a filibuster but we want to keep the pressure on so that this holds true.

Thursday:

Call the 25 of Blue Dog Democrats in the House plus your own Congressman and tell them why you do not want the government takeover of health care and a public option.

If you have extra time and unlimited long distance, consider calling not just the DC offices but also the local district offices.

Friday:

Call the remaining Blue Dog Democrats in the House plus your own Congressman and tell them why you do not want the government takeover of health care and a public option.

If you have extra time and unlimited long distance, consider calling not just the DC offices but also the local district offices.

Saturday:

Read the Tea Party Patriots Blog at New Patriot Journal.

Targeted Senators

We are including the DC office phone numbers and fax numbers below in case you would also like to call and fax directly to the Senators. If you fax your letters to: 678-302-5377 we will hand deliver them.