10120903 Hugh Hewitt: Hour 3 – This hour Hugh shifts focus to Barack Obama’s dithering on the Afghanistan question, and takes calls from listeners as to whether leftists actually want defeat in that war.
10120902 Hugh Hewitt: Hour 2 – Hugh continues discussing the latest report on the Senate version of Obamacare with House Rules Committee ranking member David Dreier.
10120901 Hugh Hewitt: Hour 1 – Hugh talks about the new Price Waterhouse Coopers report on the Senate Obamacare bill, and the White House media war against Fox News, with National Review columnist Jonah Goldberg, and Washington Examiner political editor Byron York.
What a fraud the CBO exercise was. Read the editorial in the Washington Examiner and then get on the phone to the Democratic senators who can still block this destructive spasm driven by politics and little else.
Start with Evan Bayh of Indiana, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Ben Nelson of Nebraska. If even two of these four decide to put their country’s interests ahead of the president’s political agenda, the quality of American medicine can be preserved and Medicare will not be slashed.
Here are all the Democratic senators who need to hear from you:
Key Democratic Senators:
Arkansas
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (18.70% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-4843
Local Phone: Dumas (870) 382-1023, Fayetteville (479) 251-1224, Little Rock (501) 375-2993, Jonesboro (870) 910-6896, Texarkana (870) 774-3106
Link to E-mail [# More #]
Sen. Mark Pryor (18.33% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-2353
Local Phone: Little Rock (501) 324-6336
Link to E-mail
Connecticut
Sen. Joe Lieberman (15.96% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-4041
Local Phone: (860) 549-8463
Link to E-mail
Florida
Sen. Bill Nelson (37.28% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-5274
Local Phone: Orlando (407) 872-7161, Miami-Dade (305) 536-5999, Tampa (813) 225-7040, West Palm Beach (561) 514-0189, Tallahassee (850) 942-8415, Jacksonville (904) 346-4500, Broward (954) 693-4851, Fort Meyers (239) 334-7760
Link to E-mail
Indiana
Sen. Evan Bayh (20.70% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-5623
Local Phone: Evansville (812) 465-6500, Fort Wayne (260) 426-3151, Hammond (219) 852-2763, Indianapolis (317) 554-0750, Jeffersonville (812) 218-2317, Southbend (574) 236-8302
Sen. Mary Landrieu (23.20% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-5824
Local Phone: Baton Rouge (225) 389-0395, Lake Charles (337) 436-6650, New Orleans (504) 589-2427, Shreveport (318) 676-3085
Link to E-mail
Montana
Sen. Jon Tester (16.00% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-2644
Local Phone: Billings (406) 252-0550, Bozeman (406) 586-4450, Butte (406) 723-3277, Glendive (406) 365-2391, Great Falls (406) 452-9585, Helena (406) 449-5401, Kalispell (406) 257-3360, Missoula (406) 728-3003
Link to E-mail
Nebraska
Sen. Ben Nelson (47.26% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-6551
Local Phone: Omaha (402) 391-3411, Lincoln (402) 441-4600, Scottsbluff (308) 631-7614, Kearney (308) 293-5818, South Sioux City (402) 209-3595
Link to E-mail
Nevada
Sen. Harry Reid (18.96% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-3542
Local Phone: Carson City 775-882-7343, Las Vegas (702) 388-5020, Reno (775) 686-5750
Link to E-mail
North Dakota
Sen. Kent Conrad (19.57% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-2043
Local Phone: Bismarck (701) 258-4648, Fargo (701) 232-8030, Grand Forks (701) 775-9601, Minot (701) 852-0703
Link to E-mail
Sen. Byron Dorgan (16.57% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-2551
Local Phone: Bismarck (701) 250-4618, Fargo (701) 239-5389, Minot (701) 852-0703, Grand Forks (701) 746-8972
Link to E-mail
South Dakota
Sen. Tim Johnson (18.36% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-5842
Local Phone: Aberdeen (605) 226-3440, Sioux Falls (605) 332-8896, Rapid City (605) 341-3990
Link to E-mail
West Virginia
Sen. Robert C. Byrd (28.26% Lifetime ACU rating)
DC Phone: (202) 224-3954
Local Phone: Charlestown (304) 342-5855, Eastern Panhandle (304) 264-4626
The “Blue Dog” House Democrats:
Alabama
Rep. Bobby Bright – 2nd District
DC Phone: (202) 225-2901
District Phone: Dothan (334) 794-9680; Montgomery (334) 277-9113; Opp (334) 493-9253
Link to E-mail: https://forms.house.gov/bright/contact-form.shtml
Rep. Parker Griffith – 5th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-4801
District Phone: Huntsville (256) 551-0190; Decatur (256) 355-9400; Shoals (256) 381-3450
Link to E-mail: http://griffith.house.gov/?sectionid=7§iontree=4,7
Arkansas
Rep. Marion Berry – 1st District
DC Phone: (202) 225-4076
District Phone: Jonesboro (870) 972-4600; Cabot (501) 843-4955; Mountain Home (870) 425-3510
Link to E-Mail: http://www.house.gov/berry/messageform.html
Rep. Mike Ross – 4th District
DC Phone: 1-800-223-2220
District Phone: El Dorado (870) 881-0681; Hot Springs (501) 520-5892; Pine Bluff (870) 536-3376; Prescott (870) 887-6787
Link to E-mail: http://ross.house.gov/?sectionid=77§iontree=76,77
Arizona
Rep. Harry Mitchell – 5th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-2190
District Phone: (480) 946-2411
Link to E-mail: https://forms.house.gov/mitchell/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords – 8th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-2542
District Phone: Tucson (520) 881-3588; Cochise (520) 459-3115
Link to E-mail: https://giffordsforms.house.gov/contact/email.shtml
California
Rep. Mike Thompson – 1st District
DC Phone: (202) 225-3311
District Phone: Napa (707) 226-9898; Humboldt (707) 269-9595; Mendocino (707) 962-0933; Yolo (530) 662-5272
Link to E-mail: http://mikethompson.house.gov/htbin/formproc_za.pl?/mthompson/contact/email_auth.txt&form=/mthompson/contact/email_form.shtml&pass
Rep. Dennis Cardoza – 18th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-6131
District Phone: Merced (209) 383-4455; (209) 527-1914; Stockton (209) 946-0361
Link to E-mail: https://writerep.house.gov/htbin/wrep_findrep
Rep. Jim Costa – 20th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-9308
District Phone: Fresno (559) 495-1620; Bakersfield (661) 869-1620
Link to E-mail: http://www.house.gov/formcosta/issue.htm
Rep. Loretta Sanchez – 29th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-2965
District Phone: (714) 621-0102
Link to E-mail: http://www.lorettasanchez.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=218&Itemid=17
Rep. Jane Harman – 36th District
DC Phone: (202) 225 8220
District Phone: El Segundo (310) 643 3636; Wilmington (310) 549 8282
Link to E-mail: http://www.house.gov/harman/contact/email.shtml
Rep. Joe Baca – 43rd District
DC Phone: (202) 225-6161
District Phone: (909) 885-2222
Link to E-mail: https://forms.house.gov/htbin/formproc_za/baca/ht_zip_parms.txt&form=/baca/messageform.shtml
Colorado
Rep. John Salazar – 3rd District
DC Phone: (202) 225-4761
District Phone: Grand Junction (970) 245-7107; Pueblo (719) 543-8200; Durango (970) 259-1012; Alamosa (719) 587-5105
Link to E-mail: http://www.house.gov/htbin/formproc_za/salazar/contact-zip.txt&form=/salazar/contact2.shtml
Florida
Rep. Allen Boyd – 2nd District
DC Phone: (202) 225-5235
District Phone: Tallahassee (850) 561-3979; Panama City (850) 785-0812
Link to E-mail: http://www.house.gov/htbin/formproc_za/boyd/zip_authen.txt&form=/boyd/contact_email.html&pass
Georgia
Rep. Sanford Bishop – 2nd District
DC Phone: (202) 225-3631
District Phone: Albany (229) 439-8067; Colombus (706) 320-9477; Thomasville (229) 226-7789
Link to E-mail: http://bishop.house.gov/display.cfm?section_id=13
Rep. Jim Marshall – 3rd District
DC Phone: (202) 225-6531
District Phone: Macon (478) 464-0255; Dublin (478) 296-2023; Tifton (229) 556-7418
Link to E-mail: https://writerep.house.gov/htbin/wrep_findrep?HIP29329573301.1220.9427
Rep. John Barrow – 12th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-2823
District Phone: Augusta (706) 722-4494; Sandersville (478) 553-9215; Savannah (912) 354-7282
Link to E-mail: https://forms.house.gov/barrow/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm
Rep. David Scott– 13th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-2939
District Phone: Jonesboro (770) 210-5073; Smyrna (770) 432-5405
Link to E-mail: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Iowa
Rep. Leonard Boswell – 3rd District
DC Phone: (202) 225-3806
District Phone: (515) 282-1909
Link to E-mail: http://boswell.house.gov/?sectionid=81§iontree=4,81
Idaho
Rep. Walt Minnick – 1st District
DC Phone: (202) 225-6611
District Phone: Meridian (208) 888-3188; Lewiston (208) 743-1388; Couer d’Alene (208) 667-0127
Link to E-mail: https://forms.house.gov/minnick/contact-form.shtml
Indiana
Rep. Joe Donnelly – 2nd District
DC Phone: (202) 225-3915
District Phone: South Bend (574) 288-2780; Logansport (574) 753-2671; La Porte (219) 326-6808; Michigan City (219) 873-1403
Link to E-mail: http://donnelly.house.gov/contact/email.shtml
Rep. Brad Ellsworth – 8th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-4636
District Phone: Evansville (812) 465-6484; Terre Haute (812) 232-0523
Link to E-mail: http://www.ellsworth.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=325&Itemid=
Rep. Baron Hill (Co-Chair for Policy) – 9th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-5315
District Phone: Jeffersonville (812) 288-3999; Bloomington (812)336-3000
Link to E-mail: https://forms.house.gov/htbin/formproc_za/baronhill/IMA/issue_subscribe_parm.txt&form=/baronhill/IMA/issue_subscribe_verify.shtml
Kansas
Rep. Dennis Moore – 3rd District
DC Phone: (202) 225-2865
District Phone: Overland Park (913) 383-2013; Kansas City (913) 621-0832; Lawrence (785) 842-9313
Link to E-mail: http://www.moore.house.gov/htbin/formproc_za.pl?/moore/contact/zip_authen.txt&form=/moore/contact/email.shtml
Kentucky
Rep. Ben Chandler – 6th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-4706
District Phone: (859) 219-1366
Link to E-mail: https://writerep.house.gov/htbin/wrep_findrep?HIP29329573301.26817.5636
Louisiana
Rep. Charlie Melancon (Co-Chair for Communications) – 3rd District
DC Phone: (202) 225-4031
District Phone: Houma (985) 876-3033; Chalmette (504) 271-1707; Gonzales (225) 621-8490; New Iberia (337) 367-8231
Link to E-mail: http://www.melancon.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=205
Maryland
Rep. Frank Jr. Kratovil – 1st District
DC Phone: (202) 225-5311
District Phone: Centreville (443) 262 -9136
Link to E-mail: https://forms.house.gov/kratovil/contact-form.shtml
Maine
Rep. Mike Michaud – 2nd District
DC Phone: (202) 225-2943
District Phone: Bangor (207) 942-6935; Lewiston (207) 782-3704; Presque Isle (207) 764-1036; Waterville (207) 873-5713
Link to E-mail: https://forms.house.gov/michaud/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm
Minnesota
Rep. Collin Peterson – 7th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-2165
District Phone: Detroit Lakes (218) 847-5056; Marshall (507) 537-2299; Montevideo (320) 235-1061; Red Lake Falls (218) 253-4356; Redwood Falls (507) 637-2270; Willmar (320) 235-1061
Link to E-mail: http://collinpeterson.house.gov/zipauth.htm
Mississippi
Rep. Travis Childers – 1st Districts
DC Phone: (202) 225-4306
District Phone: Tupelo (662) 841-8808; Hernando (662) 449-3090; Colombus (662) 327-0748
Link to E-mail: https://forms.house.gov/htbin/formproc_za/childers/webforms/contact_parm.txt&form=/childers/webforms/contact_form.htm
Rep. Gene Taylor – 4th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-5772
District Phone: Bay St. Louis (228) 469-9235; Ocean Springs (228) 872-7950; Hattiesburg (601) 582-3246; Laurel (601) 425-3905
Link to E-mail: https://forms.house.gov/genetaylor/webforms/zipauth.htm
North Carolina
Rep. Mike McIntyre – 7th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-2731
District Phone: Lumberton (910) 735-0610; Fayetteville (910) 323-0260; Wilmington (910) 815-4959; Bolivia (910)-253-0158
Link to E-mail: http://www.house.gov/mcintyre/issue.shtml
Rep. Heath Shuler (Whip) – 11th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-6401
District Phone: Asheville (828) 252-1651; Murphy (828) 835-4981; Sylva (828) 586-1962
Link to E-mail: http://shuler.house.gov/htbin/formproc_za/shuler/ht_zip_parms.txt&form=shuler/messageform.htm
North Dakota
Rep. Earl Pomeroy
DC Phone: (202) 225-2611
District Phone: Bismarck (701) 224-0355; Fargo (701) 235-9760
Link to E-mail: http://www.house.gov/htbin/formproc_za/formpomeroy/ht_zip_parms.txt&form=/formpomeroy/messageform.htm
New York
Rep. Mike Arcuri – 24th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-3665
District Phone: Utica (315) 793-8146/8147; Auburn (315) 252-2777/2778; Cortland (607) 756-2470
Link to E-mail: http://arcuri.house.gov/IMA/issue_subscribe.htm
Ohio
Rep. Charles Wilson – 6th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-5705
District Phone: Canfield (330) 533-7250; Marietta (740) 376-0868; Bridgeport (740) 633-5705; Ironton (740) 533-9423; Wellsville (330) 532-3740
Link to E-mail: http://www.charliewilson.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=139
Rep. Zack Space – 18th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-6265
District Phone: Dover (330) 364-4300; Zanesville (740) 452-6338; Chillicothe (740) 779-1636
Link to E-mail: http://space.house.gov/?sectionid=61§iontree=26,61
Oklahoma
Rep. Dan Boren – 2nd District
DC Phone: (202) 225-2701
District Phone: Muskogee (918) 687-2533; Claremont (918) 341-9336; McAlester (918) 423-5951
Link to E-mail: http://www.house.gov/boren/emailsignup.shtml
Pennsylvania
Rep. Jason Altmire – 4th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-2565
District Phone: Aliquippa (724) 378-0928; Natrona (724) 226-1304
Link to E-mail: https://forms.house.gov/altmire/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm
Rep. Patrick Murphy – 8th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-4276
District Phone: Bristol (215) 826-1963; Doylestown (215) 348-1194
Link to E-mail: http://www.house.gov/htbin/formproc_za/formpatrickmurphy/ht_zip_parms.txt&form=/formpatrickmurphy/messageform.shtml
Rep. Christopher Carney – 10th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-3731
District Phone: Clarks Summit (570) 585-9988; Shamokin (570) 644-1682; Williamsport (570) 327-1902
Link to E-mail: http://www.carney.house.gov/contact.shtml#email
Rep. Tim Holden – 17th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-5546
District Phone: Berks (610) 921-3502; Dauphin/Perry (717) 234-5904; Lebanon (717) 270-1395; Schuylkill (570) 622-4212
Link to E-mail: http://holden.house.gov/htbin/formproc_za/holden/email_zipauth.txt&form=messageform.shtml
Tennessee
Rep. Lincoln Davis – 4th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-6831
District Phone: Columbia (931) 490-8699; Jamestown (931) 879-2361; McMinnville (931) 473-7259; Rockwood (865) 354-3323
Link to E-mail: https://writerep.house.gov/htbin/wrep_const
Rep. Jim Cooper – 5th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-4311
District Phone: Nashville (615) 736-5295
Link to E-mail: http://www.cooper.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=117&Itemid=61
Rep. Bart Gordon – 6th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-4231
District Phone: Murfreesboro (615) 896-1986; Cookeville (931) 528-5907; Gallatin (615) 451-5174
Link to E-mail: http://gordon.house.gov/contact/contact_form.shtml
Rep. John Tanner – 8th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-4714
District Phone: Union City (731) 885-7070; Jackson (731) 423-4848; Millington (901) 873-5690
Link to E-mail: https://writerep.house.gov/htbin/wrep_findrep
Texas
Rep. Henry Cuellar – 28th District
DC Phone: (202) 225-1640
District Phone: Laredo (956) 725-0639; McAllen (956) 631-4826; Rio Grande City (956) 487-5603; San Antonio (210) 271-2851; Seguin (830) 401-0457
Link to E-mail: http://cuellar.house.gov/Contact/ContactForm.htm
Utah
Rep. Jim Matheson – 2nd District
DC Phone: (202) 225-3011
District Phone: South Salt Lake (801) 486-1236; St. George (435) 627-0880;
Link to E-mail: https://forms.house.gov/matheson/contact.shtml
Virginia
Rep. Glenn Nye – 2nd District
DC Phone: (202) 225-4215
District Phone: Hampton (757) 326-6201; Eastern (757) 789-5092
Link to E-mail: http://nye.house.gov/?sectionid=7§iontree=4,7
Charles Krauthammer, the Choice of Decline, the Health Care Overhaul
By Clark S. Judge, managing director, White House Writers Group, Inc.;special assistant and speechwriter to President Reagan
Monday night last week, I attended the Manhattan Institute’s Wriston Lecture dinner at the Pierre Hotel in New York. Charles Krauthammer was the speaker. In an address from which the current Weekly Standard cover story is condensed (http://tinyurl.com/yhfjgyb), he argued that the decline of American global hegemony or its continuation will not be the inevitable result of historic forces but of both foreign and domestic policy decisions the nation itself makes.
“For America today,’ he said, “decline is not a condition. Decline is a choice.” He added: “The current liberal ascendancy in the United States–controlling the executive and both houses of Congress, dominating the media and elite culture–has set us on a course for decline.”
For me the most original and telling section of the lecture concerned domestic rather than foreign policy.
Yes, as Peter Wehner later wrote on the Commentary blog (http://tinyurl.com/yf2ue6c), Mr. Krauthammer’s indictment of the president explained the Nobel Peace Prize announcement later in the week. As Krauthammer said of Obama’s ongoing global apology tour, from international podium to international podium, Mr. Obama has spoken the words that the Nobel Committee wanted to hear. As Krauthammer put it:
“[A]s he made his hajj from Strasbourg to Prague to Ankara to Istanbul to Cairo and finally to the U.N. General Assembly, Obama drew the picture of an America quite exceptional — exceptional in moral culpability and heavy-handedness, exceptional in guilt for its treatment of other nations and peoples.”
But by now everyone with eyes and ears knows where the president is going in at least the tone of international affairs.
No, the real insight of the talk was that the president’s social democratic policies at home are incompatible with global greatness. Krauthammer noted:
“Domestic policy, of course, is not designed to curb our power abroad. But what it lacks in intent, it makes up in effect. Decline will be an unintended, but powerful, side effect of the New Liberalism’s ambition of moving America from its traditional dynamic individualism to the more equitable but static model of European social democracy.”
Massive spending on domestic programs, starving of defense budgets, the decline of the dollar: all these, Krauthammer argued, are as of a piece.
Another way to put it (my words now, not his) is that when we talk about presidential legacies, we should remember the legacy of George Washington (with the assistance of Alexander Hamilton) in making the United States government the most credit worthy entity in the world. With this incomparable financial foundation, in the past century we won two world wars and a Cold War. We saved civilization. And yet now, as we race past one trillion-dollar spending milestone after another, in the course of single presidential administration, we could destroy this essential gift.
It does not have to be that way. A great decision – a pivotal decision – on whether we go down Krauthammer’s social democratic road of decline will be made in the next few months: Do we adopt a social democratic model for health care reform?
To now, the president and his allies have done all they could to ignore – and keep the bulk of the media ignoring – the fully formed alternative model that fixes U.S. health market problems while truly reducing costs – that is, prices — and with minimal federal spending.
That model is simple. It includes, for example, creating a national health insurance market (to replace the antiquated fifty state insurance markets of today and introduce intense nationwide competition); making our tax treatment when buying health insurance for ourselves no different from that which large employers enjoy when they buy insurance for us (so no one is effectively forced to buy through the employer, as is the case today); enhancing health savings accounts (so each of us has greater control over our daily health care choices); removing the legal barriers that keep doctors from creating companies to deliver health services and develop health products (called the Stark Laws, they are a drag on entrepreneurship in the healthcare marketplace); instituting medical malpractice reform; eliminating mandates.
From Harvard professor and Manhattan Institute scholar Regina Herzlinger, to Stanford professor and Hoover Institute scholar John Cogan, to Columbia University business school dean and former chair of the Council of Economic Advisors Glen Hubbard, to Pacific Research Institute president and economist Sally Pipes, to many other scholars, this model has been carefully and imaginatively developed over the past two decades. It fits the needs and strengths of America in the twenty-first century, as the administration’s model based on 1930s social democratic thinking cannot possibly do.
On a Sunday talk show, ABC’s This Week, George Will noted that, correctly and honestly calculated, the president’s health upheaval plans currently will cost the nation $1.8 trillion over the next ten years. As Charles Krauthammer pointed out last Monday, embracing such a program could profoundly compromise America’s strength and security for decades to come. There is a better road. Will we take it?
Be sure to read the New York Times’ profile of Ted Ginn Sr. and his Ginn Academy in Cleveland. What works with young men is what has always worked with young men. Hats off to Coach –and Headmaster– Ginn.
And cheers for the accord between Armenia and Turkey. I will be speaking at a fundraiser for Young Life in Armenia next month, and the country needs not only the trade that an open border with Turkey will allow, but also the continued support of its ex-pat community for in-country efforts like Young Life’s. If you would like details on the Sunday, November 22 event in Glendora, send me an e-mail at hugh@hughhewitt.com.