A conservative alternative to Obamacare

45 Days to Obamacare : If you have not yet signed the online petition Don’tFundIt, go here. You will receive an email to confirm that you intended to sign the petition. As of 4 pm on Fri., Aug. 16, there were over 348,500 signatures, and counting.

Rep. Tom Price's alternative to Obamacare

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) proposed an alternative to Obamacare that Patriots should know about – especially when commentators such as Newt Gingrich criticize the GOP for failing to come up with an alternative. From National Review Online:

The bill aims to provide affordable coverage for all through a series of tax credits and deductions designed to entice individuals into the insurance market with positive incentives, as opposed to Obamacare’s solution of fining those who refuse to purchase health insurance. “It’s a carrot instead of a two-by-four,” Price says. “Regardless of where one fits in the economic spectrum, there is a financial incentive to purchase health coverage that the individual wants, not that the government forces them to buy.”

The law would allow individuals to opt out of Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health-care-benefit programs in favor of receiving a tax credit; an individual’s health coverage would be “portable” — no longer tied to an employer — so losing a job wouldn’t also mean losing insurance; individuals and small businesses would be able to access insurance pools that reduce risk for those with pre-existing conditions, and they could purchase plans across state lines. Tort reforms would cut down on physicians’ practicing “defensive medicine” and driving up costs by ordering unnecessary procedures in an effort to avoid lawsuits. 

The plan is based on six principles: affordability, accessibility, quality, responsiveness, innovation, and choice. “All of those principles are violated by the Affordable Care Act,” Price says. “When you step back and look at those principles, it guides you to a system that allows patients and families and doctors to be in charge.” 

And yet when Republicans talk about health care, few actually point to Price’s bill as an alternative plan, which only reinforces the perception that the GOP has no plan beyond repealing Obamacare.

More on Rep. Price's website here, including the bill itself AND proposed legislation to prohibit the IRS from enforcing Obamacare. 

Two Senators and one GOP who are on not on board with delaying Obamacare and who need to hear from us:

Sen. Tom Coburn

Washington D.C.:

Main: 202-224-5754

Fax: 202-224-6008

1800 South Baltimore

Suite 800

Tulsa, OK 74119

Main: 918-581-7651

Fax: 918-581-7195

100 North Broadway, Suite 1820

Oklahoma City, OK 73102

Main: 405-231-4941

Fax: 405-231-5051

Sen. Richard Burr

Federal Building

151 Patton Avenue, Suite 204

Asheville, NC 28801

Phone: (828) 350-2437

Fax: (828) 350-2439

100 Coast Line Street, Room 210

Rocky Mount, NC 27804

Phone: (252) 977-9522

Fax: (252) 977-7902

Washington, DC

Phone: (202) 224-3154

Fax: (202) 228-2981

2000 West First Street,  Suite 508

Winston-Salem, NC 27104

Phone: (800) 685-8916

Phone: (336) 631-5125

Fax: (336) 725-4493

City Hall

181 South Street, Room 222

Gastonia, NC 28052

Phone: (704) 833-0854

Fax: (704) 833-1467

201 North Front Street

Suite 809

Wilmington, NC 28401

Phone: (888) 848-1833

Phone: (910) 251-1058

Fax: (910) 251-7975

Rep. Paul Ryan

20 South Main Street, Suite 10

Janesville, WI 53545

(608) 752-4050

5455 Sheridan Road, Suite 125 

Kenosha, WI 53140 

Phone: (262) 654-1901 

Fax: (262) 654-2156

216 6th Street 

Racine, WI 53403 

Phone: (262) 637-0510 

Fax: (262) 637-5689

# # #

Speaker Boehner, just say it: NO conference

47 Days to Obamacare - If you have not yet signed the online petition Don’tFundIt to delay Obamacare, go here. You will receive an email to confirm that you intended to sign the petition. As of 3 pm on Weds., Aug. 14, there were over 301,800 signatures, and counting.

 Speaker Boehner : NO conference on Amnesty

The following extract is from an editorial at National Review Online; it provides patriots with the message for Speaker Boehner on any House bill on Immigration “Reform”

Nothing if not a shrewd political operator, [Sen. Chuck] Schumer knows that the best chance for the Gang of Eight bill is a House-Senate conference and that the only way to get there is incremental legislation in the House. Incremental fixes to the immigration system make sense on the merits, and House Republicans understandably want to show that they favor their own set of reforms rather than oppose anything and everything. But incremental bills are destructive if their ultimate purpose is to get to a conference committee that would bless a version of the Gang of Eight bill. House leadership aides pooh-pooh the possibility of a conference committee. Well, then, there is a simple way to allay our fears and those of other opponents of the Gang of Eight — for Speaker Boehner to make a blood-oath commitment to oppose any conference committee.. . . 

Instead, Boehner was unwilling to say even what his own position is on immigration on Face the Nation a few weeks ago, repeatedly describing his role as that of a “facilitator.” This is, needless to say, not confidence-inspiring. The speaker has said in the past that he favors comprehensive reform, and there is enormous private pressure from the Republican establishment and donor class to pass a comprehensive bill by hook or crook to “put the issue behind us.” . . . 

It would be a travesty if the House leadership subverted the will of its conference to find a way to rescue the Gang of Eight bill. Speaker Boehner should crush Schumer’s hopes and give his word — no conference.

Contact info for GOP Speaker John Boehner:

Butler County Office  PH (513) 779-5400

Miami County Office PH (937) 339-1524

Clark County Office   PH (937) 322-1120

D.C. Office

PH  (202) 225-6205

FAX (202) 225-0704

And his mailbox (send postcards):

Speaker John Boehner

7969 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, Suite B

West Chester, OH 45069

NO Immigration Bill in the House, Mr. Speaker!

NO Immigration Bill in the House, Mr. Speaker!

This isn't encouraging. From Breitbart Big Government:

According to reports on Sunday, conversations between Speaker of the House John Boehner and President Barack Obama regarding immigration reform have been ongoing. White House spokesman Jay Carney said last week, “My sense is they spoke about a variety of the issues that are coming up for action by Congress.” A spokesman for Boehner reportedly refused comment on what exactly Obama and Boehner spoke about.

Short report, but the comments below the article show that some readers are paying close attention. We all need to speak up. Loudly. Sen. Cruz asked Tea Party Patriots for a veritable tsunami of calls and mail (he is of course leading the charge to delay Obamacare, but both initiatives are critical). So .... Cleveland Patriots need to call Boehner's office and stuff his mailbox with postcards. For the next several weeks.

NEED HELP? If mailing postcards seems like too much trouble, here's the tip of the day: you can prepare 30 postcards in about 5 minutes. If you would like a sheet of 30 printed address labels, including to the Speaker and the GOP leadership (multiple office addresses), please email Cleveland Tea Party Patriots at clevelandteaparty@gmail.com with your mailing address, and we'll mail one out to you. (Postcards are cheap to send, they get through security faster, and your message can be short. Buy postcards in quantity at your neighborhood post office -- pre-stamped.) All you have to do is write a one-line message, sign, and affix your return address sticker below your signature. I mail mine out maybe five at a time. Any other patriots in your household? We can send out extra address label sheets and you can complete your postcards around the kitchen table.

Meanwhile, here again are contact details for Speaker John Boehner:

Butler County Office  PH (513) 779-5400

Miami County Office PH (937) 339-1524

Clark County Office   PH (937) 322-1120

D.C. Office

PH  (202) 225-6205

FAX (202) 225-0704

And his snail-mailbox (more postcards):

Speaker John Boehner

7969 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, Suite B

         West Chester, OH 45069 

Why ANY immigration bill in the House spells disaster

Tea Party Patriots to Speaker John Boehner: 

No. Immigration. "Reform." Bill.

Aug. 9-2013: Breitbart reports:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Friday that if House Republicans end up sending their collection of immigration bills to a conference with the Senate, Democrats and illegal immigration advocates would win.

“If we go to conference, we would win,” Reid told a Nevada radio station.Reid’s comments are the latest in a long line of Senate Democrats and House Republicans openly stating that the plan for amnesty for all of America’s illegal aliens rests in the House passing a group of immigration bills, then going to a conference with the Senate “Gang of Eight” bill.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), a member of the Gang of Eight, said on Wednesday that the House GOP piecemeal strategy is “OK by us” because the Senate would combine all the bills in a conference. 

“We would much prefer a big comprehensive bill but any way that the House can get there is okay by us,” Schumer said. “I actually am optimistic that we will get this done. I’ve had a lot of discussions with members of both parties in the House. Things are moving in the right direction.”

Schumer’s fellow Gang of Eight member, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), also recently pleaded with left-wing activists at the Center for American Progress, asking them to help get pro-amnesty lawmakers to a conference. “Get us to a conference," Menendez said. "In a conference, we can negotiate the notion of bringing all those bills together and get to common ground."

Conservatives are increasingly concerned that any conference between the House and Senate will be dominated by supporters of amnesty for the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants. The final bill, they believe, would look much more like the Senate Gang of 8 bill than any individual bills passed by the House.  

With his remarks, Sen. Reid seems to agree with that assessment. 

Here is an earlier CTPP blog with Amnesty Action plans. Keep calling, faxing, and sending postcards. 

August Town Hall in northeast Ohio with Rep. Jim Renacci

If you have not yet signed the online petition to delay funding Obamacare, go here.  You will receive an email to confirm that you intended to sign the petition. As of 6 pm on Friday, Aug. 9, there were over 284,000 signatures, and counting (and 52 days left to delay Obamacare).

Congress on Recess: 

Only one Town Hall in northeast Ohio

NumbersUSA closely monitors legislation concerning immigration “reform," amnesty, and border security issues. Their website lists town halls and forums across the country during the August recess, and there is only one listed in northeastern Ohio on the Tri-C West campus:

Rep. Jim Renacci Veterans Forum

Location: 11000 West Pleasant Valley Road, Parma, OH 44130 (at York Rd.)

Event Date: Wednesday, August 14, 2013 6:00pm to 8:00pm EDT

Host:  Rep. Jim Renacci

Contact Phone:  (330) 334-0040

If you attend this forum, you will want to express  (1) your opposition to ANY immigration bill brought to the floor in the House (which could then be passed into conference with the Senate and its Gang of Eight, and we’d end up with some brand of amnesty and insecure borders), and  (2) support for passing a Continuing Resolution on October 1 that defunds Obamacare but otherwise keeps the government funded.  

Representative Bill Johnson (R) is holding numerous town halls downstate, in and around Marietta. If you or friends and relatives are in that area, please share this link with them.

Obamacare or Amnesty or Bust

 

Cleveland Tea Party Patriots need to be multi-tasking in August and September. While it is essential that we keep up the pressure on the GOP on both houses to DEFUND Obamacare in the upcoming Continuing Resolution to delay its implementation – and we have until Oct. 1 to do that, we ALSO have to keep up the calls and postcards to stop Amnesty and Immigration "Reform.” Ann Coulter is focused like a laser on the amnesty bill, and in her interview on Hannity this evening, she faulted Tea Party groups for taking their eye off the Immigration “Reform” legislation and putting all their efforts on stopping Obamacare. In her view, if Amnesty passes, then the America we grew up in is .... gone. Amnesty will forever change the demographics and it will reward illegal behavior while punishing those who have been standing in line waiting for their turn. And the borders will still not be secure. Hard to argue with Coulter's sense of urgency.

One solution is to message on both issues when you call or send postcards, although it is more effective to deliver single-issue messages. Speaker John Boehner is one whose phones we need to melt:

Butler County Office  PH (513) 779-5400

Miami County Office PH (937) 339-1524

Clark County Office   PH (937) 322-1120

D.C. Office

PH  (202) 225-6205

FAX (202) 225-0704

And his mailbox (for postcards):

Speaker John Boehner

7969 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, Suite B

West Chester, OH 45069

The GOP establishment is not on the side of the Tea Party, and here is Daniel Horowitz at Red State on that sad truth [emphasis added]:

The August Amnesty End-Run Around the Conservative Base

One difference between the two major parties is that Democrats harness the energy of their base to fight legislative battles; Republicans make end-runs around their base to obviate their energy. 

Let’s examine the GOP’s strategy for dealing with immigration.  Instead of harnessing their energy to fight amnesty and hang it around the necks of Democrats in the red state electoral landscape next year, they are trying to outflank the conservative base with subterfuge in order to pass amnesty.  National Journal has an inside story of the strategy: 

"House Republicans head home for the August break having done little to pass immigration reform, falling well short of Speaker John Boehner’s goal of voting on legislation before next week’s month long recess begins. But far from a failure of leadership, top House Republicans are casting the inaction as a tactical play designed to boost reform’s chances. 

Keeping immigration on the back-burner helps avoid a recess filled with angry town-hall meetings reminiscent of the heated August 2009 protests where the backlash against health care reform coalesced. Doing nothing also starves Democrats of a target, Republicans argue. 

“August was a central part of our discussions. People don’t want to go home and get screamed at,” a House GOP leadership aide said. 

Just in case Members get screamed at by some Tea Party leaders, leadership has put out an amnesty kit to help propagate Obama’s talking points.  Neil Munro of Daily Caller has the details: 

"Instead, the 24-page document highlights the House leadership’s strategy of reassuring GOP supporters with a step-by-step approach to passage of a comprehensive bill. This strategy highlights popular proposals for enhanced border security, but obscures the fact that any bill must be reconciled with the demands by Democrats for increased immigration of low-skill immigrants. 

"Judiciary “Chairman [Bob] Goodlatte believes that enforcement needs to come first before any legalization happens, and the immigration August recess packet makes that clear,” said an aide at the judiciary committee. 

"The talking points document touts the drafting of some popular immigration legislation that would boost enforcement of immigration laws in workplaces, borders and airports. It also provides a favorable description of bills favored by the GOP’s business interests, which would provide an amnesty to many illegal immigrants, and also increase the annual inflow of skilled guest-workers and immigrants. 

As I [Horowitz] noted last week, we’re in a sorry state when we can’t even pass good bills for fear that leadership will use them as shell games to up-end us with amnesty first.  And in another ‘see, I told you so’ moment, take a look at what Chuck Schumer had to say about this “step by step” approach of House leadership. 

“We would much prefer a big comprehensive bill, but any way that the House can get there is OK by us,” Schumer told CNN Wednesday. “I actually am optimistic that we will get this done.”

The fix is in.  And remember, once this bill arrives in the Senate, we all know that Mitch McConnell will work in the shadows to ensure that McCain and Graham adulterate the House bills with amnesty, albeit without his fingerprints on the deal.

That’s why we need all hands on deck this month and next.

53 Days to Defund Obamacare : and Sen. Tom Coburn needs to hear from you

If you have not yet signed the online petition Don’tFundIt, go here.  You will receive an email to confirm that you intended to sign the petition. As of 2 pm on Thursday, Aug. 8, there were nearly 275,000 signatures, and counting.

53 Days to Defund Obamacare

The Washington Free Beacon identifies two prominent Senators who oppose the defund-Obamacare-in-the-continuing-resolution strategy, but offering no viable alternatives. And it is especially unfortunate that Tom Coburn, a physician, is one of them: 

Several Republican senators have come out against the effort to defund.

“The strategy that has been laid out is a good way for Republicans to lose the House,” Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) has said.

Coburn said the idea “will not work,” while Sen. Richard Burr (R., N.C.) has called the idea “the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.” 

“The public is not supportive of shutting down the government in order to defund the law,” Roy said of what he believes are political liabilities in the plan. [emphases added]

GET WITH THE PROGRAM: The whole point of Sen. Cruz’s strategy is to NOT shut down the government, but instead to defund Obamacare as a provision of passing the Continuing Resolution that keeps the government funded.

Click here for previous CTPP blogs with contact details for Sen. Rob Portman and Speaker John Boehner. Other legislators you can add to your list to call/ mail / fax are

Sen. Tom Coburn
Washington D.C.:
Main: 202-224-5754
Fax: 202-224-6008

1800 South Baltimore
Suite 800
Tulsa, OK 74119
Main: 918-581-7651
Fax: 918-581-7195

100 North Broadway, Suite 1820
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
Main: 405-231-4941
Fax: 405-231-5051

Sen. Richard Burr
Federal Building
151 Patton Avenue, Suite 204
Asheville, NC 28801
Phone: (828) 350-2437
Fax: (828) 350-2439

100 Coast Line Street, Room 210
Rocky Mount, NC 27804
Phone: (252) 977-9522
Fax: (252) 977-7902

Washington, DC
Phone: (202) 224-3154
Fax: (202) 228-2981

2000 West First Street,  Suite 508
Winston-Salem, NC 27104
Phone: (800) 685-8916
Phone: (336) 631-5125
Fax: (336) 725-4493

City Hall
181 South Street, Room 222
Gastonia, NC 28052
Phone: (704) 833-0854
Fax: (704) 833-1467

201 North Front Street
Suite 809
Wilmington, NC 28401
Phone: (888) 848-1833
Phone: (910) 251-1058
Fax: (910) 251-7975

Rep. Paul Ryan
20 South Main Street, Suite 10
Janesville, WI 53545
(608) 752-4050

5455 Sheridan Road, Suite 125 
Kenosha, WI 53140 
Phone: (262) 654-1901 
Fax: (262) 654-2156

216 6th Street 
Racine, WI 53403 
Phone: (262) 637-0510 
Fax: (262) 637-5689

Melt those phones and stuff those mailboxes!