If GOP wins Congress in Nov., repeal health care reform?
(PHOTO CREDIT: THINKSTOCK)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Remember how health care reform was supposed to make health care affordable for all Americans? Well that's not what's happening.
A new report says employer health care costs will jump another nine percent in 2011 - and you can bet that companies will pass along those higher costs to their workers.
The Price Waterhouse Coopers survey of 700 employers shows they plan to offset costs by raising deductibles. By 2011 - more than 50 percent of employees will have a deductible of $400 or more... that's compared to only 25 percent who paid that much in 2008.
Also, 13 percent of companies say their primary plans in 2010 had deductibles of more than $1,100... that's more than double the level in 2008.
If these troubling trends continue, health care will become less affordable for those people who actually have insurance.
And, in the end, the health care law will be another gift to the insurance and pharmaceutical companies... and another burden on taxpayers.
Republicans are trying to seize on this.
More than 70 incumbent lawmakers and more than 330 GOP candidates have signed a pledge to support legislation that would repeal the health care law - and replace it with something less costly - if they win in November.
Meanwhile - Democrats are hoping that as more parts of the law take effect and the public feels the benefits, they'll get behind it.
But, for now, polls still show that majorities of Americans oppose health care reform... months after it was shoved down our throats.
Here’s my question to you: If the Republicans win control of Congress in November, should they repeal health care reform?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Why has U.S. politics lost any semblance of dignity?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
It's no wonder the American public is disgusted with Washington and politicians of all stripes.
Our lawmakers sound more like children messing around on the playground than the people meant to represent us and solve the nation's problems.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/06/11/art.fiorina.jpg caption="In an open mic gaffe, Carly Fiorina was caught on camera referring to Barbara Boxer’s hair as 'so yesterday.'"]
And that starts right at the top.
This week, President Obama decided it was appropriate to go on the "Today Show" and talk about "whose ass to kick" when it comes to the Gulf coast oil spill.
This is a program that's watched by millions of families every morning. Classy.
Then one top Republican jumped in the game.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, who wants Democrats to focus more on reducing the federal deficits, suggested Mr. Obama find someone's "ass to kick" on the budget deficit.
Nice.
Meanwhile out on the left coast - the races for California governor and Senate have devolved into nasty insults - and there are still five months to go before the election.
Democrat Jerry Brown – who's running for governor - is comparing his Republican opponent, Meg Whitman, to Nazi propaganda master Joseph Goebbels.
When pressed on the comment - Brown's people call it "jogging talk" that was "taken out of context."
Brown made these dumb remarks to a reporter on a jogging path.
Then there's Republican Carly Fiorina - who was caught insulting Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer's hair.
Fiorina's spokeswoman dismisses it as "early morning small talk."
California is broke and swimming in problems; and the newest crop of political wannabes engage in personal insults under the labels of jogging and early morning small talk.
What's small are the people making these remarks.
Here’s my question to you: Why has American politics lost any semblance of dignity?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
What does Rand Paul's Kentucky victory mean for Tea Party?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
After more than a year of protests, rallies, speeches and a national convention... the Tea Party movement has taken its first big step toward political relevancy.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/05/20/art.rand.paul.jpg caption=" Rand Paul "]
Dr. Rand Paul pulled off a stunning landslide victory this week in Kentucky's Republican senate primaries. Paul, an eye doctor with no political experience, defeated the more well-known candidate - Kentucky's Secretary of State who had the backing of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. What an embarrassment for McConnell.
Even before his victory - Paul was one of the leading voices of the Tea Party movement - known for its anti-big government, anti-tax, anti-establishment positions. Paul comes by his credentials honestly - his dad is Texas congressman and onetime GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul. And some of his ideas are pretty darn good. They include requiring Congress to balance the budget and limiting senators to 12 years in office.
The Democrats were quick to react to Paul's victory - saying he represents "the most extreme elements" of the Republican party. Paul's response? He says Democrats should "bring it on"... and is promising the Tea Party is here to quote "take our government back."
But, now that he's got everyone's attention... Paul is under intense scrutiny for some of the stuff he's said.. like having to explain his recent criticism of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
But whatever questions there are - Rand Paul may one day be known as the person who put the Tea Party on the map. And with nearly one-third of Americans considering themselves Tea Party supporters, they could become a political force to reckon with.
Here’s my question to you: What does Rand Paul's victory in Kentucky mean for the future of the Tea Party?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
2/3 of Americans support financial reform, but Senate GOP blocks it
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Here we go again. Yet another example of our representatives in Washington not listening to what the people want.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/04/27/art.brown.jpg caption="Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) talks with reporters after a vote on financial reform. Senate Democrats failed to bring legislation to the floor for debate in a 57-41 vote, unable to gain the 60 votes needed to overcome the threat of a Republican filibuster."]
Despite the fact that two-thirds of Americans support tougher regulation of banks and Wall Street... Republicans have already voted unanimously to block financial reform from reaching the senate floor - and they might do it again minutes from now when another test vote happens.
A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows 65 percent of those surveyed want stricter financial reform. 31 percent are opposed.
The poll also shows majorities back two key parts of the senate bill... including greater government oversight of consumer loans... and a fund - paid for by the banks - that would help dismantle failing institutions. According to this poll, the public is split on letting the government regulate complex financial instruments knows as derivatives.
Also - by a double-digit margin, Americans trust Pres. Obama more than the Republicans in Congress to handle financial reform...
Not a huge surprise when you consider how the GOP is handing this. Although Republicans say they want a bill to pass... they say it needs to be "substantive" and they insist they won't be quote "rushed on another massive bill" by the Democrats. Top Republicans remain optimistic they can come to a bipartisan agreement.
Meanwhile, Majority Leader Harry Reid - who called another vote for this afternoon - says the Democrats won't tolerate efforts to water down the reform.
Here’s my question to you: Why are Senate Republicans blocking financial reform legislation when two-thirds of Americans want it done?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
What's behind GOP opposition to financial reform?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
You might call it "Health care reform, Take 2."
The financial reform bill might just set the stage for the next big partisan showdown on Capitol Hill.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/04/19/art.geithner.jpg caption="Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner spoke last week after meeting with Pres. Obama and the bipartisan Congressional leadership to discuss financial reform. "]
In what may be another political miscalculation by the GOP, all 41 Senate Republicans say they "are united" in opposing the current bill... and that they want to see a more "bipartisan and inclusive approach." Some have already promised to filibuster it.
Republicans claim the legislation would continue the Obama administration's intervention into formerly private industries.
Ironic when you consider that the original $700 billion TARP bailout happened under the Republican President Bush and his Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson... those hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars vanished into the pockets of the big banks with very few strings attached.
The Democrats claim the financial reform bill will actually prevent future taxpayer bailouts of failing banks. It would create a consumer protection office for investors, regulate some of the complex investments that led to the collapse, and create a $50 billion "failure fund" financed by the banks.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says he's confident the bill will pass Congress. And if Senate Democrats can nail down one or two Republican votes, some think that could open the flood gates for others to support it.
Even conservative columnist George Will believes in the end, there will be plenty of bipartisan support - he says the Republicans don't know what they want... and he estimates the bill will pass with 70 votes.
Here’s my question to you: What's behind the Republicans' opposition to financial reform?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Tea Party favorable rating almost as high as Dems & GOP
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks at the Tea Party Express' "Showdown in Searchlight" rally March 27 in Searchlight, Nevada. The rally, held in the hometown of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), serves as the kickoff for a 42-city bus tour that ends in D.C. April 15. (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
It's about time. The American people may have finally had it with both Democrats and Republicans... and might just start seriously considering another option.
A new USA Today/Gallup poll shows for the first time, the two major political parties are viewed unfavorably by most Americans. What's more - the Tea Party movement's favorable rating of 37 percent is nearly as high as the 41 percent for Democrats and 42 percent for Republicans.
This means the anti-tax, anti-big government movement that's only about one year old is ranking almost as high as these political machines that have been around for a couple hundred years.
The same poll shows 28 percent of all adults call themselves supporters of the Tea Party... more than a quarter of Americans is nothing to sneeze at. When it comes to their politics, Tea Party supporters mostly lean Republican and conservative. They're also more likely to be male and less likely to be poor.
But in many other areas, Tea Partiers are representative of the general public - including their age, education, employment status and race. And whether it ultimately comes from the Tea Party or not, it could finally mean some real competition for the 2 major parties, which have long since ceased to give much of a damn about American citizens.
Meanwhile an article in the British Newspaper "The Telegraph" suggests that with Americans so disgusted with their politicians, a real outsider is needed in the White House. They say no one stands out like General David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command.
Petraeus emphatically denies any interest in being president... but then again, so have lots and lots of other future candidates.
Here’s my question to you: What does it mean when the Tea Party movement has a favorable rating almost as high as the Democrats and Republicans?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Are Republicans sore losers?
U.S. Capitol police officers stand watch in front of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
At the NCAA tournament, the basketball team that loses shakes hands with the team that wins. It's called sportsmanship.
You see the same thing at NFL games, the World Series and boxing matches.
But where you don't see it much these days is in Washington, DC. We have become so bitterly divided that people on the losing side of a political debate - in the case of health care reform, Republicans and their supporters - have taken to hurling insults, using names like Baby Killer and using the most vile racial epithets to refer to African-American members of the United States Congress, as well as our President.
These recent examples follow the beginning of this descent into schoolyard behavior when during the President's State of the Union address - a Republican congressman yelled out: "You lie!"
That followed talk of death panels and the government killing your grandmother.
This kind of behavior by our leaders sends a subliminal message that this kind of behavior is acceptable, and eventually you get to death threats and perhaps worse.
What exactly are we becoming here? Do members of Congress start punching each other and throwing furniture the way they do in some legislative bodies elsewhere in the world?
In fighting health care reform at every step of the way, the Republicans may have made the political miscalculation of the century. When Republican Scott Brown won in Massachusetts, the GOP figured it had the health care debate in the bag and they didn't even have to be nice about it anymore.
But they lost, and now the residue of the bile they spewed during the debate has left a nasty taste in everyone's mouth.
Here’s my question to you: Are Republicans sore losers?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Where do the Republicans go from here?
Supporters of the Tea Party movement demonstrated outside the Capitol over the weekend against the health care bill which was just signed into law. (PHOTO CREDIT: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The health care debate represents the "most crushing defeat" for the Republican Party in four decades... and that's coming from a Republican.
Former Bush speechwriter David Frum says the GOP may be overly optimistic about its chances of winning seats in the midterm election; and that the party has only itself to blame for what has happened.
Not all Republicans feel this way - some think they haven't miscalculated; and they're prepared to campaign on a pledge to try to repeal health care reform. Their mission now will be to prove to voters that this bill is a bad idea and that it will cost them.
But that won't necessarily be easy. The Democrats were smart - and timing is good. Very good. Consider this: Some of the benefits of health care reform go into effect only weeks before the midterm elections - a lot of them being the most popular and least costly to implement.
Also, voters may be left with a bad taste in their mouths from the way some Republicans behaved at the end of this debate... including shouting insults in the House chamber and encouraging outbursts from the galleries.
Of course - there is hope for Republicans. They were very effective last summer at controlling the message with tea parties and town hall meetings; and polls show that Republicans are among some of the most motivated voters heading into the midterms. But it's definitely time for the GOP to step up and prove they're more than what the Democrats call the "party of no."
Here’s my question to you: Where do the Republicans go from here?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
What do you see as future of the Tea Party movement?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Sarah Palin is telling Tea Partiers they have to pick a party - either Republican or Democrat.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/02/18/art.tea.jpg caption="FILE PHOTO: Tea Partiers protested Congress' and Pres. Obama's health care reform efforts back in September."]
Speaking to Republicans in Arkansas, Palin started by praising the Tea Party, calling it a "grand movement" that she loves because it's "all about the people."
But she was quick to say tea party candidates won't win in our two-party system unless they join an established party. No surprise which one Palin thinks they'd be better of with.
Meanwhile there's a new poll that sheds some light on who actually makes up the Tea Party movement.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows activists are mostly male, rural, college-educated and overwhelmingly conservative.
The survey shows about 11 percent of Americans say they've actively supported the Tea Party either by giving money or going to a rally; and another 24 percent say they favor the movement but haven't taken any actions to support it. That's a total of 35 percent who could be described as Tea Party supporters. Not an insignificant number....
Which is exactly why it could be a problem for the GOP. If the Tea Party movement succeeds in getting candidates on the ballot, they could wind up splitting votes with the Republicans - and ultimately help the Democrats win.
Which is probably why Sarah Palin is asking them to pick a side. Meanwhile not such a great turnout for Palin at that Arkansas event. Reportedly less than half of the lover level seats were occupied in the 18,000 seat hall and the entire upper level was covered in black drapes.
Here’s my question to you: What do you see as the future of the Tea Party movement?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Why are some Obama '08 'blue' states turning 'red' again?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Everything blue is red again... well, sort of.
Politico reports that the electoral map - which Pres. Obama remade back in 2008 - is returning to its old patterns.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/02/17/art.map.jpg caption=""]
During the presidential campaign, there was lots of talk about how Barack Obama had changed the playing field and put several so-called red states into play.
By winning in places like Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia and the Mountain West, Obama didn't need to rely on states that had decided previous elections, like Florida and Ohio.
Fast forward a year and a half... Democrats are facing some tough races for Congress and governorships in November in these very same states. No doubt Republicans are loving it, with one congressman saying: "One election doesn't make realignment."
But Democrats insist these states that used to be red will be competitive now, although some worry that without Pres. Obama on the ballot, young voters and African-Americans are more likely to sit this one out.
Meanwhile a new poll suggests trouble for any incumbent - red or blue - come the midterm election. And that's exactly as it should be. Vote them all out and start over.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll shows only 34 percent of voters think most members of Congress should be re-elected; that's the lowest number ever in this poll. 63 percent say send the incumbents home.
As for Pres. Obama, a majority - 52 percent - say he does not deserve a second term in office. The American people are angry.
Here’s my question to you: Why are some of Pres. Obama's 2008 "blue" states turning "red" again?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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