By Kelly L. Goodridge and Oscar De  Los Santos

Pelosi’s Bill: More Sludge in the D.C. Swamp

Yesterday (Oct. 29), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) praised Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Maxine Waters (D-CA) for their help in determining the finances and taxes that will be levied in the new souped-up 1900-page health care bill.  This “Affordable Health Care for America Act” (or H.R .3962) bill has been debated for months. It is a perfect example of liberal lunacy and promises reneged.

Pelosi’s “gargantuan beast of a bill” contains 13 new tax hikes (“Comprehensive List of Taxes in the House Democrat Bill,” atr.org, October 30, 2009). Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) points out, “One thing is clear. Your concerns about a government takeover of health care have been totally ignored by Speaker Pelosi and her allies, who worked behind closed doors to write this bill” (“Government Still Trying to Take Over Health Care,” biggoverment.com, October 30, 2009). Price also notes that Pelosi’s House bill means government-run insurance, higher taxes, a job-killing employer mandate and “countless provisions that set Washington bureaucrats firmly between you and your doctor.”

Oh, and Sarah Palin was right – the provision for death panels or “End-of-Life-Planning” is included in Pelosi’s bill.

She’s Clogging up the Congressional Works – and Rangel Isn’t Helping Things

When she was crowned Queen of the House, Madame Pelosi vowed to drain the D.C. swamp of corruption.  So far, she’s just further clogging up the works. Pelosi also promised, “We Will Create the Most Open and Honest Government in History” in a January 18, 2006¨Press Release (Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, California, 8th District, http://www.house.gov/pelosi/press/releases/Jan06/honest.html). Is that why Madame Speaker got Charlie Rangel, one of the most corrupt individuals in Washington D.C. to assist her with fact and figures as the new health care bill was drawn up?

The distinguished Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, Rangel has been under investigation since the beginning of this year for multiple incidents involving tax evasion and failure to report income.  We’re not talking a few thousand bucks here (like Tim “Turbo Tax” Geithner).  Rangel is in deep you-know-what for hiding serious coin.  Peter Roff reports in U.S. News & World Report that “an ongoing investigation into Rangel’s finances reveals he has not been exactly candid with the IRS or, for the matter, his congressional colleagues about his real estate holding, sales of stock and his reportable income” (www.usnews.com/blogs/peter-roff/2009/09/08/for-the-democrats-sake-charles-rangel-must-go.html, May 12, 2009).

Back in May, further questions arose over the lord of the tax code’s conduct. Rangel’s “amended finance disclosure forms for the years 2002 through 2006, include his failure to report checking accounts at the Congressional Federal Credit Union and Merrill Lynch—each valued at between $250,000 and $500,000, tens of thousands of dollars in earning from stock dividends and mutual funds, and the proceeds from the sale of a townhouse back in his Manhattan-based congressional district” (Roff, www.usnews.com/blogs/peter-roff/2009/09/08/for-the-democrats-sake-charles-rangel-must-go.html, May 12, 2009). Yet this is the upstanding numbers man to whom Queen Pelosi turned in her hour of need.

Well, after all, Rangel is himself a big donor to the Democratic Party.

Maxine Waters – Another Inept Tax Plumber

As if Charlie Rangel weren’t enough, Pelosi also got Maxine Waters, a high-ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, to help draft the new hernia-inducing health care monstrosity.  Waters has her own tax disclosure issues. Michelle Malkin “spotlighted” Waters back in March for she and her husband’s “smelly involvement with minority-owned bank called OneUnited” (michellemalkin.com, October 30, 2009). On Thursday (Oct. 29), the House Ethics Committee announced that it is investigating whether “Waters used her influence to help a bank in which her husband owned stock, and whether the couple benefited as a result” (michellemalkin.com, October 30, 2009). Waters’ husband also sits on the bank’s board. What’s more, OneUnited received $12 million dollars in Stimulus bill monies. Barney Frank (D-MA) helped the bank to secure the funds (Kelly Cunnigham, http://www.sddt.com/Commentary/article.cfm?Commentary_ID=192&SourceCode=20090211tzd, February 11, 2009).

Pelosi+Rangel+Waters = Bad Sewage!

The results of such masterminds concocting a new health care bill are messy.  In fact, even though Pelosi claims the new bill is more streamlined in dollars (if not bulk), it’s potentially more damaging to Americans from the get-go.  If it passes, Americans will start to be taxed immediately in order to pay for it.   Keep in mind that it doesn’t take effect until 2013 (after Obama & Co. have been re-elected – they hope – and there’s nothing to do but suffer the consequences).

Pelosi claims that the $894 Billion dollar bill will insure an additional 36 million Americans.  She also claims that the bill will “cut the deficit by $30 million over 10 years, which means it would meet President Obama's budget requirements. It would also extend coverage to 96 percent of the population. Top Democrats say the numbers are based on estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, which has yet to formally score the bill” (Jason Plautz, NationalJournal.com, http://healthtopic.nationaljournal.com/2009/10/house-plan-will-cost-894-billi.php, October 30, 2009).

We’re left scratching our heads. What kind of magical numbers-out-of-the hat is Pelosi trying to pull?  Probably the same kind good ol’ Charlie Rangel uses to balance his tax returns.

Need a Plumber? Don’t Call One Named Pelosi!

“Poor Nancy, every time she tries to drain the swamp, she either catches a reflection of herself or she uncovers one of her friends. Drain a little, there's Charley Rangel wallowing in the mud” (chuckthings.blogspot.com, 5/12/09).

It’s all too obvious that Nancy Pelosi meant she was going to strip Republicans – corrupt and otherwise – of power when she boasted she would drain the D.C. swamp.  Liberals need not worry and are encouraged to continue contributing to the muck.

Madame Speaker has proven herself to be a poor sump pump. OK hopes to see major plumbing work – and House cleaning – done in 2010.

No matter.  Consider that even after Obama’s non-booster shot, fewer than half of U.S. citizens want the healthcare fixit the president is proposing.  We have the best heath care in the world and many who can afford it come to America to get treated for ailments and illnesses when they are denied or put on waiting lists for treatment in countries like Canada and England.  Logic says leave our healthcare alone, or offer real reform in the way of capping the dollar amount of medical lawsuit claims against doctors or allowing patients to shop for insurance across the country.

By Kelly L. Goodridge and Oscar De Los Santos

Barack and Michelle Obama are having parties and conga lines at the White House, even as a deliberate destruction of our way of life is underway. Newsbusters’ Noel Sheppard reports that Jim “Mad Money” Cramer ranted against Obama’s budget on Tuesday’s (3/3/09) “Today” show. Cramer said, “This is the most, greatest wealth destruction I’ve seen by a president” (“Cramer: ‘This is the Greatest Wealth Destruction by a President’,” newsbusters.org, 3/3/09). Jim Cramer’s not alone in his concern for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, the Russell Index and Nasdaq – all have nose-dived since Obama’s Inauguration. In fact, a new Bloomberg study indicates that the Stock Market has tanked faster under Obama’s watch than any other president in 90 years.

“Three trillion dollars of wealth has vanished since he [Obama] took office,” says Rush Limbaugh. We’re witnessing a steady decline in our economic stability and Obama says he can’t be worried about the “day to day gyrations of the market” (“The Rush Limbaugh Show,” 3/3/09). For those watching their life savings dwindle by the hour, these are more than gyrations.

We don’t know about you, but we’re getting tired of the ‘Do As I Say, Not As I Do’ politics that are being crammed down our throats. The Obama’s are socializing and enjoying the perks of the White House while the rest of us are concerned about economic failure, 401(k)’s and pension plans. Many whose income is derived from economic success are worried because the stock market is an excellent gauge of a country’s stability or lack thereof. Obama’s agenda is punishing the rich and transferring money to the government. “I don’t want to see the wealth of this nation destroyed. I don’t want to see our economy fail,” say El Rushbo (3/309). Unfortunately, that’s what we’re all seeing right now.

Obama blames the Bush administration for the current economic situation. He claims that “we dug a very deep hole for ourselves” on W’s watch. Conveniently, Obama neglects to mention the nation’s economic growth during most of the Bush era; Barack Hussein also sidesteps the fact that Democrats took control over Congress in November 2007, which set us on an economic tailspin. Nor does Obama take responsibility for his recent spending splurges: bailouts, stimulus package and a laughable budget (“The Rush Limbaugh Show,” 3/3/09).

We’re not surprised. After all, Obama promised transparency during his election, but we’ve since learned that it was just cheap talk – lie after lie that began on the campaign trail, when Obama promised to watchdog bills and put a stop to rampant earmarks on Capitol Hill. Since then, the lies have stockpiled. They include his promise not to hire lobbyists in his cabinet. And don’t forget the one that promised several days to scrutinize bills before they were voted on.

We’ve since learned of then President-Elect Obama’s secret letter to Russia. We’re all for secrecy when it comes to matters of national security, particularly in the negotiating stages. If Obama were already president when the letter was sent, fine – but he sent it several weeks before he was inaugurated. What happened to his “There’s only one president at a time” deferral to George W. Bush during this period? Wouldn’t that include shying away from orchestrating foreign policy revisions? Well, maybe The Anointed One doesn’t have to be held accountable for truths like the rest of us peons.

When the boss is a liar, the hired hands follow suit. In order to create a smokescreen (euphemism for subterfuge; for covering up misdeeds, mistakes and LIES) and distract America from the tanking economy, Obama and key Democrats launched an assault against Rush Limbaugh last October. Since Obama took office, “Ballerina” Rahm Emanuel has held secret phone calls every morning to select members of the press (CNN, ABC).

Obama’s fast tracked ‘strangulation bill’ (that few read) was said to have no earmarks. During his first State of the Union address, Obama said he was proud to be able to pass a bill that was earmark free. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs parroted his boss’s claim on TV. Now we learn that the monstrosity contains over 8,000 pounds of pork! Obama’s name was removed from some of the earmarks, but Vice President Joe Biden’s name is all over the place. Rahm Emanuel is mentioned in other places.

Forget about the trickle-down economics Obama should implement. We have trickle-down hypocrisy in the works. Want a laugh? How about Tim “Turbotax” Geitner warning of a crackdown on tax dodgers? We guess Charlie Rangel was sitting nearby to keep things honest. In fact, there are currently four tax cheats in Obama’s cabinet.

Obama is power grabbing and he is revising the cap-and-trade schedule that promises to jack up electricity costs. All this coincides with the prez’s forty days of doom and gloom talk about the present state of our economy, his blaming others for the economic collapse we’re facing as he pushes his big government agenda on the private sector – these are words for the taxpayers. But for friends and family, it appears to be Party On. I won!

Oh, and would you pass the 100-dollar a pound imported Japanese steak tray this way? You know, the one that made its rounds freely throughout The Messiah’s Super Bowl party? The one the rest of us taxpayers treated Obama and Co. to?