BackstabWatch

Our guest columnist is desperately whipping up a batch of lemonade.

Friend,

Today, the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare. But regardless of what the Court said about the constitutionality of the law, Obamacare is bad medicine, it is bad policy, and when I’m President, the bad news of Obamacare will be over.

It was always a liberal pipedream that a 2,700 page, multi-trillion-dollar Federal Government takeover of our health care system actually could address the very serious problems we face with health care. With Obamacare fully installed, government will reach fully half of the economy – that is the recipe for a struggling economy and declining prosperity.

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Daily Mail:

Serving and former US Navy SEALs have slammed President Barack Obama for taking the credit for killing Osama bin Laden and accused him of using Special Forces operators as ‘ammunition’ for his re-election campaign.

BuzzFeed:

The frustration — or, even anger — within the SEAL community is real, and has been brewing for months, particularly among a politically conservative core of operators.

The Daily Mail story was promoted by Drudge. The BuzzFeed writer suspects a Swiftboating a-comin’. The 2012 General Election has begun.

Paul Ryan, 2003: “I give out ‘Atlas Shrugged’ as Christmas presents, and I make all my interns read it.”

Paul Ryan, 2005: “The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand.”

Paul Ryan, 2012: “I reject her philosophy. It’s an atheist philosophy. It reduces human interactions down to mere contracts and it is antithetical to my worldview. If somebody is going to try to paste a person’s view on epistemology to me, then give me Thomas Aquinas.”

What happened? The bishops got to him.

[via ThinkProgress]

Our guest columnist is Karen Handel, who until this morning was the senior vice president for public policy for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

February 7, 2012

The Honorable Nancy Brinker
CEO, Susan G. Komen for the Cure
5005 LBJ Freeway, Suite 250
Dallas, Texas 75244

Dear Ambassador Brinker:

Susan G. Komen for the Cure has been the recognized leader for more 30 years in the fight against breast cancer here in the US – and increasingly around the world.

As you know, I have always kept Komen’s mission and the women we serve as my highest priority – as they have been for the entire organization, the Komen Affiliates, our many supporters and donors, and the entire community of breast cancer survivors. I have carried out my responsibilities faithfully and in line with the Board’s objectives and the direction provided by you and Liz.

We can all agree that this is a challenging and deeply unsettling situation for all involved in the fight against breast cancer. However, Komen’s decision to change its granting strategy and exit the controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood and its grants was fully vetted by every appropriate level within the organization. At the November Board meeting, the Board received a detailed review of the new model and related criteria. As you will recall, the Board specifically discussed various issues, including the need to protect our mission by ensuring we were not distracted or negatively affected by any other organization’s real or perceived challenges. No objections were made to moving forward.

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“Mitt Romney is depicted as a financier ‘more ruthless than Wall Street’ and a son of privilege responsible for firing thousands of workers in a film bankrolled by Newt Gingrich supporters set to be released today in South Carolina.” [Bloomberg]

“New Hampshire’s secretary of state warned Wednesday that he could set a primary date as early as Dec. 6 unless Nevada moves back the date of its caucuses. Bill Gardner, who has set the date of New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary since 1976, issued a memo calling Dec. 6 and Dec. 13 (both Tuesdays) ‘realistic options’ unless Nevada agrees to set its primary for Tuesday, Jan. 17 or later.” [MSNBC, via Political Wire]

Our guest columnist seems to have watched “Casino Jack” recently. He’s also a sixteen-term congresscritter from Virginia. Oh, and he’s a Republican.

My conscience has compelled me to come to the floor today to voice concerns I have with the influence Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, has on the political process in Washington.

My issue is not with ATR’s goal of keeping taxes low.

Like Ronald Reagan said, and I believe, “the problem is not that people are taxed too little, the problem is that government spends too much.” I want to be perfectly clear: I do not support raising taxes on the American people.

My concern is with the other individuals, groups, and causes with whom Mr. Norquist is associated that have nothing to do with keeping taxes low.

Among them:

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