The endgame is here and the most important aspect that could kill the above linked post concerning the Senate Finance Committee healthcare bill and any other form of ObamaCare is being ignored by not only the media, but major bloggers everywhere. The only other reference I can find other than on the Social Security Institute website (see link below) is from FreedomWorks. Given that these two amendments kill any chance of reconciliation, I am at a loss to explain the complete lack of interest in this topic.

There were two amendments offered by Senator DeMint prior to the health bill conferences and debate in the Senate – a point-of-order amendment and instruction to conferees. The following is taken directly from an email Mr. Uhler received from Dr. Lawrence Hunter of the Social Security Institute that was forwarded to me and placed in the first link above. Dr. Hunter also has a very long and distinguished career and served as policy advisor to President Ronald Reagan during Reagan’s second term. He also served as a Member of the Board of Advisors for the NTLC:

During deliberations on the Senate Budget Resolution earlier this year, Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) introduced a point-of-order amendment that would require a 60-vote majority to pass “any bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that eliminates the ability of Americans to keep their health plan or their choice of doctor (as determined by the Congressional Budget Office).” The Senate approved the DeMint Amendment unanimously.

Subsequently, before the Senate Budget Resolution went to a Conference Committee where differences with the House Budget Resolution were to be worked out, DeMint offered a motion to instruct the Conferees not only to insist on retaining the 60-vote provision in the final Conference Report but also to widen the scope of the provision to cover any provision and so forth that decreases the number of Americans enrolled in private health insurance while increasing the number enrolled in government-managed, rationed health care. The Demint motion to instruct passed the Senate by an overwhelming vote of 79 to 14.

As a matter of congressional comity, the House ordinarily would have been expected to accede to the Senate provision since it affected Senate rules that applied only to the Senate. Remarkably, Senate Budget Committee Chairman, Kent Conrad, allowed the Demint 60-vote requirement to be removed from the Budget Resolution in Conference.

Prior to the above statements by Dr. Hunter is information of great importance:

However, with a united Republican front in the Senate, Democrats would be hard pressed to jam a bill as comprehensive and detested as ObamaCare down Americans’ throats. Current polls indicate that more people oppose ObamaCare than support it. Moreover, Senate Republicans stand on very strong procedural grounds for resisting a bum’s rush on government-run healthcare through the Reconciliation process. It would take an act of extraordinary arrogance and recklessness for the Democratic Leadership to use Reconciliation this way.

If agreed upon to be enforced, the Demint amendments would in effect kill the reconciliation process and force 60 votes to pass ObamaCare in its present form – even with the co-operative option, which is nothing more than a Trojan horse for what ultimately will become a single-payer system. Mr. Uhler has identified five Republican Senators that need to align themselves with the party and forgo their proclivity to reach across the aisle. If this story goes national and pressure is brought to bear on these five Republican’s to stand firm with their party, then it is reasonable to assume the above conclusion from Dr. Hunter to be correct. Under these circumstances I do not believe the Democrats in the Senate would have the votes to commit “an act of extraordinary arrogance and recklessness”. However, wide public knowledge of the amendments and the subsequent pressure on Senators to follow their own rules requires national exposure. The average American is completely unaware of the procedural hurdles that Senator Jim Demint placed to block the ramming of a very unpopular plan onto the American people.

One could reasonably ask themselves why the public must follow rules, where the Senate can choose to ignore them. It will focus attention on the contempt that some Senate elitists have for the public. However, to date no major conservative talk show, media outlet, or think tank has covered this tactic. Everyone is talking about Blue Dogs killing the legislation. While certainly one strategy to pursue, I personally believe Blue Dogs have a habit of growling but, at the end of the day, many of them will roll over. I prefer a multi-pronged strategy that would include the above approach outlined by Dr. Hunter. On the legislative front, what is called for is combining public pressure on the Blue Dogs in the House and placing pressure on five Senate Republican’s to stand firm with their party and not negotiate ObamaCare Lite with the cooperative option replacing nationalized health care. Instead the public should insist the Demint rules be followed. This could very well kill the bill as it exists today. We could then press the reset button and start talking about real reform.

Using Reconciliation to force feed ObamaCare to an unwilling nation would backfire in ways that Democrats will find difficult to imagine. That is the type of atmosphere some liberals, such as Chuck Schumer are willing to create now and for the foreseeable future.

Here is the link to the story on the Social Security Institute article from Dr. Hunter:

In other news and opinion:

As the Byrd Rule Flies: Why Dems Can’t Use Reconciliation to Pass Radical ObamaCare

Co-ops a federal-subsidy trough

From Moe Lane at Redstate: Howard Dean threatens primary challenges on public option ‘no’ votes.

Is ObamaCare Constitutional?

Blue Dog: Hey, maybe we should start over on ObamaCare. Won’t happen, but this can be killed in the Senate. I am still astounded nobody has picked up on this yet.

ObamaCare: Does the media matter?

The emerging narrative in a lot of the major press coverage of heatlh care reform is that President Barack Obama has lost control of his message, which is why he was out on the hustings today at a town hall meeting. But now The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder writes that he now senses a slight relief at the White House.

Why? Because, according to Ambinder, there’s a growing feeling that the Republicans may have lost control of their message and that GOPers at Town Halls have provided a picture of some of the party’s most extreme, angry elements — which won’t convince the Blue Dog Democrats to panic and not support the plan and could well scare off independent swing voters.

Here are key portions of what he says in a post titled “How Conservatives Are Blowing Their Chance.” He notes that the mood at the White House has changed from one week ago:

A week later, and the Atlantic’s tricorder readings are picking up much calmer electromagnetic energy from the White House. Getting Democrats to attend the town hall meetings was really an intermediate goal. But Democrats are beginning to notice that opponents of health care reform have discredited themselves. They ramped up much too quickly. When smaller, conservative groups Astroturfed, they inevitably brought to the meetings the type of Republican activist who was itching for a fight and who would use the format to vent frustrations at President Obama himself. There were plenty of activists who really wanted to know about health care, and some who were probably misinformed — scared out of their chairs — to some degree, but the loudest voices tended to be the craziest, the most extreme, the least sensible, and the most easy to mock.

Ambinder suggests that conservatives had a window of opportunity to make their case seriously which “required a certain restraint — and a willingness to traffic in at least approximate truths — and an ability to make distinctions within their own ranks about which tactics were valid and which tactics were venomous. It also required a sophistication about the media.”

And what about the media? Ambinder contends media reports were not helpful to the GOP because reports were done in either two ways: “they credulously reported the louder, angrier voices (inherently damaging to Republicans in this case) or they reported on the political architecture of the town hall meetings, which plays down the substance of the protests.”

The Blue Dog Democrats’ swing constitutes aren’t angry,” he writes, “and the Blue Dogs know this. They’re political independents for whom the sanctity of the process is important. These are the type of voters who like President Obama because he appears willing to bring people together even though they don’t agree with their policies.”

In short, he argues, the right has lost control of its message, much as the left did under Bush. Lawmakers of both parties:

…found their meetings full of engorged spleens. Unrestrained, these town hall meetings are going to turn off the type of voters Republicans most need to pressure Blue Dog Democrats — independents who don’t have red genes or blue genes.

This has been the problem with the GOP in recent years: most of its pitches, when the rubber meets the road, eventually boil down to arguments that seem aimed at wavering Republicans and the style and tone of the rhetoric is — as we have called it here — the confrontional, angry and demonizing talk radio political culture. That works fine with Republicans, but it can only cause a counter reaction in wavering liberal Democrats who began to sour on Obama and independent voters wanting to follow a debate don’t get much substance hearing people yell about socialism, Marxism, Nazi Germany or Obama death panels.

In the end, this may come down to which side discredits itself first. Getting media coverage isn’t always positive if the images that come out are unpleasing to others who are not just not on your side but on the fence deciding which is the side worth joining.

So does this mean that Obama is on the descent as Ambinder suggests due to the images the meetings are emitting?

Not necessarily. Political veteran David Gergen has a different take on it and can foresee health care reform being defanged or even derailed due to the angry protests, which he notes don’t just involve talk radio and special interest group types but other Americans who distrust the change:

In this week’s issue of the National Journal, correspondents Brian Friel and Richard E. Cohen provide a valuable insight into possible endgames. They report that there are four possible outcomes:

(1) A major bipartisan reform bill is passed;
(2) A major Democratic reform bill is passed over nearly united Republican opposition;
(3) The Democrats cannot agree among themselves and pass Health Care Lite, a very watered down version of reform;
(4) Failure

Looking at the chances today, in the midst of all this brouhaha, one would have to say that the odds for outcomes one and two are going down. It is hard to see how a lot of Republicans will sign up for a bipartisan bill in the teeth of this opposition; similarly, it may be tougher for moderate Democrats, especially new members from Republican-leaning districts, to sign on to a Democratic-only bill. That means the odds are going up for outcomes three and, yes, four.

Does this mean that reform is dying? Not at all. It is still possible that if the protests continue at a high decibel level, more people in the middle will grow disgusted and rally to the President. And given his political and rhetorical talents, it is more than possible that Barack Obama himself can turn this around. But for the moment, the raucous clips coming out of Senator Specter’s session with his constituents along with other clips from other town halls — as offensive as they are to many (including me) — are also presenting a growing threat to reform.

So pick the theory of your choice — and come September, see which proved to be correct.

I could not help myself and commented as follows (I add additional information below not found in the original comment):

The first theory ignores the real data – polls. Nothing is mentioned about the polls because the first theory fails on its merits if polling data is included int the analysis.

Polling indicates a growing dissatisfaction with ObamaCare that drops by the day. He is losing seniors big time – and they are the largest voting bloc in mid-term elections. He is also losing independent voters big time. Many independents are experiencing buyers remorse and know the bait and switch Obama pulled on them. If you attempt to argue that no independents are attending town halls and shouting angrily as politicians literally lie to their faces, then you present an opinion that is patently absurd. As the town halls became more vocal, support for ObamaCare eroded further – not something one would expect of a backlash. Blue Dogs and other Democrats are quite aware of this and it is the poll numbers that will dictate their voting behavior. Should they choose to ignore the polls and vote for ObamaCare, look for a real backlash in 2010. So theory one looks like Swiss cheese upon further scrutiny and is not worthy of additional discussion (the extra CO2 required would exacerbate global warming).

Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic is following the media script of “backlash, backlash, backlash!” in an effort to silence the town halls, because they are eroding support for ObamaCare. Of course, nobody is listening to such nonsense. Whatever does pass – if anything at all – will be a watered down version of reform. August 22nd is national recess rally day – look for some real fireworks by millions, not a few hundred at a town hall. It won’t be so easy to dismiss that level of protest. I can’t wait to see Nanny State Nancy try. She is the gift that keeps on giving.

Blue Dogs are also aware of the opt out amendments in Florida and Utah and up to ten other states that will be using the 10th amendment to fight ObamaCare. Throw that dynamic in the mix.

If you want real backlash, check out Little girl at Obama town hall has not-so-random political connections. Documented, proved and case closed. Obama lies once again, stating the members of his town hall were not screened. Of course, anyone with half a brain knew better. Look for further plunging poll numbers, the obvious dynamic described as: Obama opens his mouth on the subject the numbers drop. Marc’s sense of “relief” at the White House belongs in the same boat as Obama stating he was never for a single payer system – fabricated.

Obama’s coattails are becoming an anchor.

Update: Backed up by Mickey Kaus (via Glenn Reynolds)

In other news and opinion:

Democrats now taking refuge at SEIU offices

BUSTED!: “Obama As Hitler” Poster Was A Democrat/Union Plant At John Dingell Townhall! UPDATED with video interview!

If you are a liberal, how do you live with yourself? First, you have the tape where Obama admits he wants a single-payer system – exhibit A evidence. Then, his admission in yesterday’s town hall that he has never been for a single-payer system – exhibit B evidence. Conclusion: Obama Lies.

Now you have Obama claiming there were not plants or screening in his town hall – exhibit C evidence. Michelle Malkin dispels that myth – exhibit D evidence. Conclusion: Obama Lies.

Now a plant by Dingell at a Town Hall?

If one has to resort to lies and underhanded tactics to make a point or sell a product or piece of legislation, it stands to reason that a sane person would begin to question the peddled snake oil and become either cautious or outright distrustful of the whole thing.

Video: Nelson strikes back against ObamaCare

How much can we now trust this: GA congressman describes hate mail, Nazi graffiti after protests

Okay people, time to wake up. Gateway Pundit: Bus–ted… Obama Bussed In Supporters For New Hampshire Town Hall (Video).

Funny… During the meeting Barack Obama told his supporters:

“I don’t want people thinking I just have a bunch of plants in here.”

No, we sure wouldn’t want that to happen.

People might think it was all a staged dog and pony show.

One of the comments for the Gateway Pundit called it:

it was a pony and horseshit show, without the pony……..

In a letter to Obama Tuesday, Republican Sen. John Cornyn wrote that, given Phillips’ request, “it is inevitable that the names, email address, IP addresses, and private speech of U.S. citizens will be reported to the White House.” Cornyn warned the president that “these actions taken by your White House staff raise the specter of a data collection program.”

“I can only imagine the level of justifiable outrage had your predecessor asked Americans to forward emails critical of his policies to the White House,” Cornyn continued. “I urge you to cease this program immediately.”

Senate Judiciary Committee lawyers studying the proposal say that although there is no absolutely settled law on the matter, the White House plan is likely not covered by the Privacy Act, which prohibits government agencies from keeping any records “describing how any individual exercises rights guaranteed by the First Amendment unless expressly authorized by statute or by the individual about whom the record is maintained.” Therefore, it appears the White House can legally keep records of the emails and other communications it receives in response to Phillips’ request.

Those lawyers also point out that the White House is not covered by the Freedom of Information Act, which means it would not have to release any information on the plan to members of the public who make a request.

In addition, the lawyers say the collected emails likely will be covered by the Presidential Records Act, which requires the White House to preserve and maintain its records for permanent storage in a government database. …

if “fishy” information is indeed collected, as Phillips’ request suggested, the laws involved mean that the information obtained by the White House could not only be secret but permanent. A dissident database, in whatever precise form it ultimately takes, could be around for a long time to come.

The American Center for Law and Justice is monitoring the case. Hopefully, I will hear something from them today:

A very troubling development in Washington – a new attack on the free speech of Americans from the Obama Administration.

Yesterday, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) wrote to President Obama expressing his concerns about a recent post on the White House blog written by Macon Phillips, the White House Director of New Media.

In his post, Phillips notes “[t]here is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there” both on the web and floating around in chain emails. Phillips states that “[s]ince we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”

In a nutshell, the White House is asking you to report on your neighbors, family, and friends who disagree with the President’s policy choices on health care. The White House is also implying that you should think twice before sending an email disagreeing with the President, since it might end up being forwarded to them. The White House email address says it all – let’s “flag” those who disagree with us. For what purpose are these individuals being flagged?

In his letter, Senator Cornyn rightly seeks assurances from President Obama that this new reporting program will be “carried out in a manner consistent with the First Amendment and America’s tradition of free speech and public discourse.” He poses several questions, including, “[h]ow do you intend to use the names, email addresses, IP addresses, and identities of citizens who are reported to have engaged in ‘fishy’ speech” and “[w]hat action do you intend to take against citizens who have been reported for engaging in ‘fishy’ speech.”

The First Amendment states, in part, that “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” Our Founding Fathers fought and died for the right to speak openly and freely about the government.

__________
Original Post:

It’s a curious question. Here is what I have found so far (emphasis mine):

The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C.A. 552a) is a federal law that places restrictions on the federal government’s collection, use, and dissemination of personal information. As with most comprehensive federal statutes, the act provides general and specific exemptions as well as an administrative appeals process.

The genesis of the Privacy Act can be traced back to 1965, when a congressional subcommittee examined privacy issues. Between 1965 and 1974, other congressional committees held hearings and issued reports on how individual privacy rights were affected by the growth of national data banks and the emergence of electronic data collection and storage. An important catalyst for the legislation was a Department of Health, Education, and Welfare report on government records and computers. The report proposed a “Code of Fair Information Practices” to be followed by all federal agencies and urged the adoption of five core principles: (1) the government should not maintain any secret records; (2) individuals must be able to see what personal information about them is stored and how it is used; (3) individuals must provide prior written consent before personal information collected for one purpose can be used for a different purpose; (4) individuals must be allowed to fix or clarify personal information about them; and (5) organizations that store or use personal data must be responsible for the information’s veracity and must attempt to prevent its misuse.

Congress incorporated these principles into the Privacy Act, which applies to the EXECUTIVE BRANCH of the federal government. The executive branch encompasses administrative agencies, government corporations, and government-controlled corporations. The act does not apply to records kept by state and local governments or by private companies or organizations. Only U.S. citizens and lawfully admitted ALIENS are given rights under the act. Accordingly, nonresident foreign nationals may not invoke the provisions of the act.

Generally, the only materials that are subject to the act are those that are maintained in a system of records. The act defines “records” to include most personal information kept by an agency about an individual. A record contains individually identifiable information, such as data on a person’s education, medical history, criminal history, employment history, or financial transactions. A “system of records” is a group of records from which information can be retrieved by name, SOCIAL SECURITY number, or any other identifying symbol linked to an individual. Most personal information that is kept in federal government files is subject to the Privacy Act. Therefore, the government may not, for example, share medical-history information from a MEDICARE recipient with another government agency without first obtaining the individual’s written consent.

It is unclear to me whether, with regards to the Privacy Act, the Executive Branch includes the Office of the President as exempt. This link implies the answer is the Act does not apply to the Office of the President, but it is clear the statements are only an opinion:

The Privacy Act does not apply to the White House Office, which is also known as the Office of the President.

September 8, 2000

STATEMENT BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE, DRUG POLICY
AND HUMAN RESOURCES
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee. I am pleased to be here today to testify regarding the Department’s longstanding position that the Privacy Act of 1974 (“Privacy Act”), 5 U.S.C. § 552a (1994 & Supp. IV 1998), does not apply to the White House Office…

However, the site in question which asks for private information of U.S. citizens who, as the author states, promote “disinformation” regarding health care reform, is a whitehouse.gov site. The author is one Macon Phillips. In which office is Mr. Phillips employed? Assume for a moment the President of the United States authorized such a gathering of information and the holder of that office is exempt from the Privacy Act. If ultimately an agency of the Executive Branch is involved, is seems likely that agency would be in violation of the referenced Privacy Act. Is the Health Czar involved? Is the Health Czar a member of the Office of the President? I’m not even sure what a Health Czar is. As Michelle Malkin points out, there are over 43 (or is it 44 – I lost count) czars in the White House. Which branch of government has oversight of these czars? To whom are they accountable? What about the White House Health Reform Office? Is the later to be equated with the Office of the President?

I am not a lawyer, nor am I a constitutional scholar, but something does seem a bit fishy here. Putting aside the sheer audacity of this data collection, I am left wondering if somebody, somewhere is not in violation of the Privacy Act. I am also left wondering if the POTUS himself is not in violation. Remember, the above statement that he is not is only an opinion. And we all know that famous statement about opinions.

Food for thought.

For additional background see here, here, and here.

Also:

Cornyn Attacks Obama Scheme To “Flag” Dissenters.

Quinnipiac poll: 39% of Americans need to inform on 52%

Obey-mian Representative Democracy

The primary U.S. Senate committee responsible for writing climate change legislation will delay its work until September, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer said on Thursday.

Boxer, who earlier this week said she wanted her committee to finish writing its portion of legislation mandating reductions in carbon dioxide emissions before an early August recess, told reporters that instead, “We’ll do it as soon as we get back” in September.

The delay could be a setback to President Barack Obama, who wants quick congressional action on a climate change bill.

Best quote of the day comes from Michelle in reference to the eight GOP cap-and-traitors in the House:

Hey, GOP Cap-and-Tax 8?ers, feeling pretty stupid right about now?

Up next: health care reform.

:
Original Post (7/8/2009):
:

Cruising the internet this morning, I noted a piece in ABC’s The Note written by Rick Klein that brought a smile to my face. The tide is turning in the battle against the Obamaniacs, the enemy is in retreat, and now is the time to strike the final blow. In Economies of Sale – Obama Agenda Threatened by Economy, Mr. Klein notes:

Look what’s back.

It took a trip abroad, a few Republicans to make some other news, and maybe even one of those once-a-decade funerals that double as international events, but the economy is the big issue again.

It’s never really gone away — though $787 billion in stimulus cash was supposed to have turned things around by now.

But it hasn’t, and here we are. Give us a jobs report, a sliding Dow, a vice-presidential admission, and a presidential certainty that everything was handled right, and we’ve got a fresh dose of the issue that’s always been here — and that’s closer than ever to belonging to the Democrats alone.

(If the domestic divisions weren’t enough, let’s go international: The economy will be a main focus at Wednesday’s G-8 sessions, in Italy, where President Obama spends his day after wrapping up the Russia portion of his trip.)

(And while he’s been away — maybe a bit too much playing by his top aides? So far, President Obama has had to tidy up some mixed messaging coming from his vice president and his chief of staff; it’s only Wednesday.)

On the economy — this time, it’s not as easy to blame the predecessors. This time, the pressure to change course comes from the left and the right.

This time, there’s an ambitious domestic agenda that’s at risk of getting sidetracked.

Now, it’s the president himself on the line.

Dan Balz notes the coming judgement on Obama and the economy:

Nothing may be more important to public assessments of President Obama’s leadership than the state of the economy, and at this point there are political warning lights flashing.

Mr. Balz continues later in the article:

The administration is trying to tamp down talk that it didn’t get it quite right — talk created by Vice President Biden. On Sunday, he told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, “We and everyone else misread the economy.”

And where does all of this leave Obama’s agenda?

Concerns about whether the stimulus package is working, or will, are the last thing Obama needs at this moment. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has set the administration’s calendar to focus all energies this month on the legislative battle over health care. Questions about the economy, and about the need for more stimulus funding, may only complicate hopes for passing what other presidents have failed to get done.

Obama continues to argue that health-care reform is a critical piece of his plan to fix the economy, long term. But even some Democrats worry that the centerpiece of the administration’s economic program is not working as well as they had hoped. Senior administration officials contend that no stimulus effort could offset the full effects of this recession but that the plan is helping and will continue to ameliorate the effects of the downturn.

Just keep telling yourself that, boys and girls, while the adults in the room try to figure out what festering plague infects your frontal cortex to the point where you would believe that any government stimulus would help the economy. Nope, we are smarter than you and know better. Still, stimulus part two is making its debut. Hey, I know, let’s try this, and if it doesn’t work, lets try it again, and again, and again. If the definition of insanity is performing the same act over and over expecting different results, Obama and the Democrats are in dire need of padded cells and straight jackets.

And then there is Michael Gerson of the Washington Post on Obama’s Iceberg:

Around midnight on April 15, 1912, there were a few minutes when Capt. Edward Smith of the Titanic realized his ship was going down — six watertight compartments breached, less than two hours to float — yet his passengers slept in happy ignorance. A historical fate hardened while most of the participants dreamed on.

The jobs report last week opened a long gash beneath the waterline of President Obama’s legislative agenda. Few realize it, but a scramble for lifeboats is about to begin.

Obama and the liberals are creating their own economic Katrina and leaving common sense packed away neatly into suitcases in the attic. Is there a silver lining for Obama and his liberal allies? Yes, given their belief in the hoax of global warming; which the rest of the world is waking up to, they should be smiling. The dim bulbs in their heads certainly lower their carbon footprint. Inside the liberal skull, nature does not abhor a vacuum.

Michael Gerson continues:

By the time the health-care debate begins in earnest, these challenges at the federal level will be unavoidable. Perhaps $1 trillion in spending will be on the table. Some of the resources necessary for a “revenue-neutral” bill may come from savings in the health system. But administration and congressional officials are already hinting at the need for new revenue, including some type of tax on employer-provided health benefits. “The important thing at this point is . . . to keep the discussions going,” says Obama senior adviser David Axelrod, even if discussions include such taxes. “We haven’t drawn a lot of bright lines,” explains White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.

To pass his health proposal this year, Obama would first need to violate his word. As a presidential candidate, he pledged that “no one making less than $250,000 a year will see any type of tax increase” — the most memorable number of the 2008 campaign. Taxing health benefits would certainly cross this very bright line and add to the public stock of cynicism.

Second, Obama would need to abandon economic common sense — adding debt to debt or new taxes to a struggling economy. Either way, it would be a sad story.

Or maybe the captain could wake the passengers, end their dreams and announce the obvious: Because the economy has not improved, ambitious health reform must wait.

Back to Rick Klein who informs us:

A little more open: “We need to be open to whether or not we need additional action” to stimulate the economy, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters, per Bloomberg’s James Rowley and Brian Faler.

“Democrats are all over the map on the stimulus and the possibility of a sequel, and it’s not hard to see why: When it comes to a second stimulus, they may be damned if they do and damned if they don’t,” Politico’s Victoria McGrane reports.

The thing about the urgency around quick action: “The Obama administration made its work harder by fostering unrealistic expectations. It projected in February a far rosier economic outlook than private analysts did,” McClatchy’s Kevin G. Hall and David Lightman report. “Obama’s stimulus was designed to create 3.5 million jobs. That would replace only about half the jobs lost since the recession began.”

Need more proof that the economy is back as the issue? “U.S. stocks fell to their lowest level in 10 weeks on Tuesday as talk of a second government stimulus plan heightened fears that the economy is not yet on the path to recovery and that the corporate earnings season starting this week will be weak,” Reuters’ Edward Krudy reports.

(And what happens if unemployment reaches 14 percent –as predicted by Louis Woodhill, at RealClearMarkets?)

About those jobs: “Leading economists agree that the most powerful effects of the stimulus package have yet to be felt. But even if the measure lives up to Obama’s expectations, it would barely offset the 433,000 jobs the nation lost last month alone, and the resulting employment would represent a drop in the bucket compared with the 6.5 million jobs lost since the recession began in December 2007,” Lori Montgomery writes in The Washington Post.

And then there is the warning for Republicans:

A counterpoint, from Bob Shrum in The Week: “For the GOP, it’s another case of buying short-term press at the expense of coherent strategy. The party again reinforced the sense that it has no answers of its own; Republicans came across as transparently eager for a continuing or deepening recession that they can blame on Obama,” Shrum writes. “The GOP will pay a heavy political price if the economy does turn around.”

Translation for Republicans: America wants smaller government. Start acting like conservatives and ignore the Colin Powells who are calling for moderation in the party. Take your balls out of storage and dust them off. We have already seen what a moderate RINO is capable of. Maybe its me, but George Bush and John McCain don’t seem that much different than the bozos leading us now. They can’t even pretend anymore, their attempts at hiding their onerous intentions exposing them as nothing less than a sheep in sheep’s clothing.

Remember, the first round of stimulus started under George Bush, and the biggest growth in government (present companye exluded, of course) happened on his watch with the Medicare prescription drug program. And don’t get me started on immigration or I’ll bust a blood vessel in my head.

What America needs now is fiscal conservatives dedicated to the founding principles of this country – smaller governement, freedom, and opportunity. And let’s not forget fiscal responsibility.

Shrum’s advice to the GOP?

Unless: “the GOP’s spectral rhetoric could spook congressional Democrats into a self-destructive period of doubt and disarray,” Shrum continues. “The casualties would be health reform, the energy bill that still has to pass the Senate, and conceivably a second stimulus package — which Vice President Biden just refused to rule out because it may be needed. The other casualties would be the Democrats themselves; instead of changing the country, the outcome would be a change in the balance of political power.”

I have a dream of success – and keeping my hard earned money away from obnoxious tofu-chomping, sushi-eating potheads. The liberal moto: Let no dream be fullfilled, excellence recognized, nor truth be recognized.

Meciocrity for all, and to all a good night.

More News and Opinions:

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air: Gore: Fighting global warming is like fighting Nazis

Sister Toldjah on Waxman: Not supporting Obama’s agenda means your are “against America”

Michelle Malkin: Cap and Tax 8 Watch: A letter to Dave Reichert

Emperor Misha I on a senior White House official trampling on the constitution regarding the START treaty.