Abortion Ammendment to be Considered

Washington Post:

House Democratic leaders agreed Friday night to settle an impasse over abortion by letting the entire House vote on a proposed solution, a risky decision that could determine the fate of their trillion-dollar overhaul of the nation's health care system.

Under the agreement, anti-abortion Democrats will be permitted to offer an amendment on the House floor to the health-care overhaul bill. The amendment would prohibit a new government-run insurance plan created by the health-care bill from offering to cover abortion services, congressional sources said. It would also block people who received federal subsidies for the purchase of health insurance from buying policies that offered coverage for abortions.

The report goes on to state that the ammendment is likely to pass with Republican support combined to the forty anti-abortion Democrats lead by Stupak (D-Mich) and that passage of such language would allow the Catholic Bishops to support the health care bill.

Successful Blogs Have Links

The town that Google built. Sort of. (H/T Mrs. RWC)

If only King Lear had studied game theory. Then, of course, we wouldn't have King Lear.

Sorry about that whole Citibank thing.

Princess Leia between takes.

A backhanded compliment never sounded so good........

Waupaca Candidate Forum

The Waupaca County Republicans are hosting a forum tomorrow from 2-4 p.m. at the Central County Airport in Iola.

Top notch guest list includes Scott Walker, J.B. Van Hollen, Marc Savard, Andy Williams, Reid Ribble and others.

Free and open to the public. They even promise refreshments!

I can't go tomorrow, but you should. Then tell me how it was.

As an aside: Attorney General Van Hollen strikes me as rather...aspirational these days. He's featured in blogs, he's on WPR. Could someone who is much smarter than me about such things clue me in to the implications. Are we looking at a future Governor Van Hollen? Senator Van Hollen?

The Reluctant Warrior

OK, that title is a bit melodramatic, but how's this for the opening of a campaign announcement:

Okay, so I guess the cat’s out of the bag. One reporter from the Appleton Post-Crescent actually did her homework, checked the facts with the Government Accountability Board, and discovered that I am the first, and so far the only, person who is officially registered as a candidate for Congress in Wisconsin’s 8^th Congressional District race.

That is Kerry Thomas, a Republican candidate for Wisconsin's 8th Congressional district.  From that beginning he proceeds through the hall of shame that is the recent legislative record.  From TARP through the stimulus, cap & trade, and healthcare reform he ticks them off and reminds his readers that Kagen has supported each of these massive spending programs.

Thomas then provides this as his reason for running:

After bearing witness for the last five years to the debacle that has become the Republican Party, and to Members of Congress and the Executive Branch running roughshod over the Constitution, I felt I had to do something. The only way America will be able to undo the damage caused by those currently governing our Republic is for people of good character to step forward and replace those currently governing our Republic.

If you are interested in what is going in WI-8 and the nation more generally, go read the whole thing.

It's hard not to like a campaign kickoff, even one as low-key as this, that quotes Burke:

Most people are familiar with Edmund Burke’s 1795 quote that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” But Burke, an Irish orator, philosopher, and politician, also said “No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.”

One quibble, if I may, is that while many may be familiar with the quote, I would guess most couldn't tell you its source.  Of those that could, I would suspect many couldn't provide any information beyond name and date.  While I haven't made it through Reflections, I did read this, and plan to dig even further.

If only more people were familiar with Burke's thought and its value in shaping a society, I suspect Mr. Thomas would be happier and the rest of us would be better for it.

New Candidate for Wisconsin's Eighth Congressional Distirct

Press Gazette reports:

The Republican field of candidates running to challenge U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen, D-Appleton, gets bigger today as Howard physician Marc Trager announces his run for Congress....

"Our campaign will target the economic and social issues important to families in the district, bringing new ideas and a fresh approach to the needs of Northeast Wisconsin," Trager said in a release.

This brings the total Republican candidates to five. If this week's special election in NY taught us anything it is that this cycle will definitely be about contested primaries, which it appears we have.

More Trager coverage from Berry Laker here; Lakeshore Laments here (Kevin includes a teaser about the possibility of more candidates.)

What's really going on with healthcare reform

This from the New Yorker: 

So what does it all add up to? The U.S. government is making a costly and open-ended commitment to help provide health coverage for the vast majority of its citizens. I support this commitment, and I think the federal government’s spending priorities should be altered to make it happen. But let’s not pretend that it isn’t a big deal, or that it will be self-financing, or that it will work out exactly as planned. It won’t.

The author is a supporter of the healthcare reform effort.  In a few short paragraphs though, he manages to debunk the claims of reduced costs (which Congress will never enforce) and increased revenue (we can only soak the rich and upper middle class for so long, and we all know where a tax on the health plans of union workers is headed).

Many on the left have accused those opposed to the health reform of lying (death panels, anyone?).  They would do well in this case to follow their own advice and be honest about just what it is they are proposing.  If you think it is worthwhile to enact a massive new entitlement program for the purpose of insuring almost all of the currently uninsured, then say so.  Don't pretend this proposal is meant to cut costs because it won't.  And don't pretend this won't add to our fiscal burden, it most certainly will.

Sen. Mark Miller Channels Bobby Jindal

WisPolitics Budget Blog covers the letter that Senator Mark Miller (D) sent to Education Secretary Arne Duncan expressing concern about strings attached the Race to the Top education grants coming with too many strings: 

As much as I and other public officials want to improve public school performance, we can only do so if we can pay for it. Wisconsin will be gambling with our educational future if we make these financial and policy commitments and then fail to keep them," Miller writes. "Because so much is unknown about how Race to the Top grant dollars will be allocated and for how long, we feel like a gambler trying to draw to an inside straight.

Miller's concern is that the Wisconsin will enact new programs in order to get one-time federal government money and then be stuck with the bill for on-going expenses.  Seems to me I've heard this argument somewhere before.

This was the criticism many Republican governors were making with regards to the stimulus bill several months ago.  Arguments which Democrats summarily dismissed at the time.  I wonder what's changed?

This case seems like little more than Miller pandering to a powerful constituency that opposes some of the reforms attached to the Race to the Top grants.

Ribble Responds to his Critics

In the comments to my initial post on 8th CD Republican candidate Reid Ribble, an anonymous commenter left two items raising concerns about Ribble's candidacy. You can read the original post and comments here, but here is the crux of Anon's complaint:

Is Ribble just a a carpetbagger picked by the GOP elite for the 8th? I hope we get a fair primary this time around.

Yesterday Ribble left a response in the comments responding to these complaints:

I have heard the "carpet-bagger" claim too often. I do live in Sherwood and I have lived there for 10 years. It is about 2 miles south of the 8th district border. I have been honest and straight forward about this right from the beginning.

Also regarding the "legal requirement" alluded to by anonymous. The US Constitution is pretty clear about residency requirements. It states in Article 1 section 2 "No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained the age of twenty five years, and been a citizen of the United States, and who shall not when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen." Pretty clear.

I have lived in the Fox Valley (and obviously WI) my entire life. That is longer than Steve Kagen, Andy Williams and Marc Savard. My company is in Kaukauna, WI and has been for over a decade. For two decades prior to that it was on Manitowoc Rd just south of Appleton. That location has been in and out of the 8th district a couple of times depending on gerrymandering. So the location where I sleep at night should not be a concern....

Now, onto the claim about me being prepicked by the GOP. NO ONE FROM THE GOP STATE OFFICE OR NATIONAL OFFICE has encouraged me to run. In fact some of the opposite has occured. They seem to have someone picked and rest assured it is not me. (Even though it should be) So let's put that rumor to rest right now.

Finally, let's discuss the money accusation. Congressman Kagen has raised more money from PACs and special interest groups around the country than you can imagine. If we conservatives are serious about winning we need to approach our friends and supporters wherever they live to help. Would it be nice if I raised all of the funds needed in the 8th? For sure. If anonymous is really concerned he/she should send me a check and it will help. Talk is cheap. Raising funds is hard work.

Almost all of my funds have come from personal business friends of mine through out the US.

Again, you can go read the whole comment, the original post, and Anon's two comments here.

Since I'm relatively new to party politics, I will take Ribble at his word until I find out otherwise with regard to contacts by GOP leadership. This seems like a charge that is thrown about quite a bit these days, and, as such, may or may not have any validity.

I looked at Ribble's fundraising and there's nothing there to be concerned about in my opinion. Raising funds from business contacts is no cause for concern. Raising money from Florida sugar growers when you are on the agriculture committee, is another matter entirely.

It still seems early, but this race may turn out to be very exciting. I hope that all of the candidates work hard to make the primary process as valuable as possible and ultimately to defeat Steve Kagen.