Is this thing on?

Just checking.

House set to vote on Pelosi-care

Despite the best arm-twisting tactics of Nancy Pelosi and President Obama, there are still some Democrats who are not on board with the massive government takeover of health care. They are:

Melissa Bean — Yes 
Dennis Cardoza
Jim Cooper — Yes at 11 a.m. 
Jim Costa
Lincoln Davis
Betsy Markey
Michael Michaud
Scott Murphy
Bart Stupak
John Barrow
Marion Berry
Rick Boucher
Ben Chandler
Joe Donnelly
Tim Holden
Mike McIntyre — No
Harry Mitchell
Heath Shuler
Zack Space
Allen Boyd — No
Gabrielle Giffords
Dan Maffei
Ron Klein
Glenn Nye
Michael Arcuri
Henry Cuellar
Chet Edwards
Brad Ellsworth
Paul Kanjorski
Ann Kirkpatrick
John Boccieri
Chris Carney
Steve Driehaus
Bob Etheridge
Marcy Kaptur
Dennis Kucinich
Ciro Rodriguez
Kurt Schrader
Adam Smith
Gary Peters
Tom Perriello

Call, fax or email these folks and tell them that the American people do not want this! Contact information can be found at http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml. It is especially important for these Members to hear from their constituents. Ready, set . . .  go!

 

[Michelle Malkin is liveblogging the action here.]

A video diary of my Congressional House Call experience

As I related yesterday on Smart Girl Nation, my trip into DC for the Congressional House Call turned out to be more eventful than I had expected. Prior to my run-in with the odious George Burke, Director of Communications for Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), my day was wonderful. I want to share more about the events before, during and after my run-in with George the Bully. It started out on the west steps of the Capitol, where thousands of passionate Americans gathered under blue skies to hear from Rep. Michele Bachmann, Mark Levin, and a host of other fine conservatives. 

And the view from the south side of the Capitol:

Knowing that time was tight because I had to pick up my kids from school in a few short hours, I headed over to the Cannon House Office Building early. I was surprised by the number of Capitol Hill police officers standing watch in front of the building. The snark in me wonders if DC’s finest were on call for Gerry Connolly, who is apparently afraid of his constituents, particularly the female variety.

The line to go through security was starting to build:

My Flip video camera and I made it through security with no problems. I did not observe any signs explaining the rules of use for video equipment. In fact, I started shooting video right away, as I wandered through the halls of Cannon in search Gerry Connolly’s office (327). I was stopped by neither security nor staffer.

Once inside the office, I did as asked and filled out the form — it was clear that Gerry Connolly, once again, did not have the courage to face his constituents. I included all of my contact information and the purpose of my visit: Keep your hands off my health care! I decided to take some video while I was filling out the form. As you can see, no one said a word about me filming in the office at that point. This was my first ever visit to my Congressman’s DC office and I was documenting it, with hopes of sharing it with my 9- and 11-year-olds, who are budding history freaks. I’d also like to point out that my demeanor — as evidenced on the video — was neither aggressive nor combative. 

I returned my form to the very polite young man and took out my Flip again. If Mr. Connolly was not going to answer my question, I figured it was the job of the staff to do so. Well, answers are in very short supply in this office. After inquiring about Mr. Connolly’s position on the pending health care legislation, I knew immediately that this young man was told in advance to not answer this question. The staffer immediately deflected the topic at hand by telling me that my tiny Flip camera and I needed press credentials.

See that older, red-faced guy in the background? His name is George Burke, and he is apparently the overlord of the office and designated chief constituent harasser. As you see on the video, when I questioned why a regular citizen like myself would need press credentials, Mr. Burke started to get agitated. You can almost see the thought bubble above his head: “How DARE this peon come into MY office and ask this question on camera!” Well, George, you work for me and I have every right in the world to be there and question my elected officials.

As the video ends, you can see Burke starting to advance on me. Whereas he could have politely asked me to put my camera down and explain why they were not answering questions, he instead bellowed, “Do you live in the 11th District?!” Well, yes, George, I do! For almost three decades, in fact, and perhaps even longer than you have? I could tell the young staffer was taken aback by Mr. Burke’s aggressive behavior and he hastened to assure him that I was a constituent and had filled out the form provided. Mr. Burke did not care about that, and instead decided to forcefully push his body into my right arm, which was still holding the camera. I was incredulous. I believe I said to him, “You did not just do that.” At this point, Mr. Burke, the aggressor, denied that he had touched me and decided to the play the sissy card — he threatened to call the police on me. My offense? Not marching in lock-step to the wishes of George Burke, apparently.

I was shaken by this, as I was there by myself and the other constituents in the office seemed a bit stunned that Burke was behaving this way and a bit more stunned that I held my ground. I didn’t have the time to be arrested that day, though, as I needed to collect my four young children from school. But I knew I needed to get a name before I left. I asked him at least three times for his name and Mr. Tough Guy would only tell me “George.” Well, George, if you don’t want people to know who you are, may I suggest you not put your business card on the reception desk? I grabbed his card and rather lamely told him that I would be sure to blog about my experience. To which he replied with a smug disdain, “I’m sure you will.” TRANSLATION: Oh, you stupid little woman, this is MY town and you are a nobody.

Well, I am mostly, but not completely, a nobody. You see, what George Burke, Director of Communications, apparently doesn’t understand is that there is a thriving beehive of information out there called new media, and I am an active participant. What happened next is a testament to how far the right has come in mastering tools like Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites. My dear friend, Tabitha Hale, tweeted that I had just been pushed by a Connolly staffer. As often happens, Tabitha’s tweet was widely retweeted, which brought the story to the attention of folks from The Washington Times, The Washington Examiner and Townhall.com. We on the right may be in the electoral minority (for now), but we’re wickedly tenacious, something arch communicator George Burke is slow to comprehend. He, of course, has denied the episode took place — just like every schoolyard bully does.

I have been asked why I didn’t seek out security and file a complaint against George Burke. Well, I honestly didn’t think I would be taken seriously. I didn’t have the names of the witnesses and I had to leave immediately to travel back to Virginia to get my kids. And to me, George Burke’s use of physical aggression, though clearly wrong, was not nearly as bad as his arrogance. He saw me as the enemy from the start and didn’t try to hide his disdain for me, someone whose politics are different from his own. And this is, of course, indicative of today’s Democrat party. They do not see us average Americans as people, they see us the enemy who must be destroyed. It is a dangerous game for them to play because, like I said, we center-right folks are wickedly tenacious.

[Footnote: Another dear friend found some interesting history on George Burke and she blogs about it here.]

Let Your Voice Be Heard

This is a superb video from Congressman Mike Pence, conservative Republican from Indiana. Watch and pass it along!

Mr. President, the campaign ended a year ago

If you don’t read Toby Harnden’s articles in the the UK’s Telegraph, you should. Whereas the media here in the U.S. willfully ignores much of the mess that is the Obama Administration, the Brits wade right in — and get it right. In a piece entitled “Barack Obama must stop campaigning and start governing,” Mr. Harnden nails it:

Essentially, however, Mr Obama won because of his persona – post-racial, healing, cool, articulate and inspirational. In a sense, therefore, his greatest achievement in life is being Barack Obama. Or the campaign version, at least.

Therein lies the problem: Mr. Obama has achieved virtually nothing. We knew he was an empty suit during the 2008 Election, and it seems he is working hard every day to prove us right. Post-racial? Yes, to everyone but the Democrats. Healing? Sure, just ask the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Cool? Arctic, actually. Articulate? Uh, let me be clear . . . not so much. Inspirational? Well, yes, he has inspired millions of previously uninvolved Americans to get politically active in an attempt to stop the over-reach of the Federal government (i.e., Mr. Obama himself).

Failing to move forward from the candidate persona into a confident leader is a major misstep for the President. He uses the previous administration as a crutch, but it’s far past the time to put down that crutch and take ownership of the harsh realties facing our nation. Rhetoric has carried him these last nine months, but if he continues this bland leadership style, it will carry him right back home to Illinois in 2013.

Starting Over

Yes, dear blog, I have neglected you far too long. It was not for naught, however, as I have spent many a worthwhile hour helping to grow Smart Girl Politics, the online home for conservative women activists. SGP is humming along nicely, but I have to be good over there. And I don’t always want to be good. There are a bunch of tools out there (yes, I’m talking to you, Mr. Vice President) and they have to be called out for their toolishness. So I’m back. Let’s get started . . .

How do you like him now?

To all those supposed fiscal conservatives out there (and I’m sure you know who you are) who were so certain that Obama was going to govern as a centrist, I have one question for you:

Feeling kind of stupid now?

Not that you would admit to being wrong, but, yeah, you were wrong. Way wrong. And now your children, and mine, will be paying for your ignorance for years to come.

You are invited ….

For more information, go to the Smart Girl Politics website.

 

This is the Murkiest Transparency *I’ve* Ever Seen

President-elect Obama has yet to even take office and already he’s backtracked on numerous campaign promises. With this week’s arrest of Obama ally and Illinois governor, “Hot” Rod Blagojevich, we see ample evidence that Mr. Obama has no intention of having a “transparent” administration, a promise he trumpeted loudly on the campaign trail. Let’s refresh our memories on these promises:

“But when I talk about change, it’s not simply policies, it’s also a change in leadership. And what, right now, the American people are desperate for is a president that they can trust, who’s going to promote accountability and transparency in our government…and that’s the kind of leadership I’m providing…” (CBS’ “Face The Nation,” 12/23/07)

“Well, I think actions do speak louder than words, which is why over the 20 years of my public service I have acted … to make sure that we create transparency in our government…” (Sen. Barack Obama, CNN Democrat Presidential Debate, Austin, TX, 2/21/08)

“Here’s how I can encourage people to be involved. Number one, it means transparency in our government.” (CNN’s “Ballot Bowl,” 3/15/08)

Fast forward to this past week. Hot Rod was arrested on charges he solicited monetary offers in exchange for “selling” Obama’s vacant Senate seat. Obama claims that neither he nor his staff have discussed the seat with Blago or his staff. Except for, as it turns out, one Rahm Emanuel delivered to the Governor’s office a least of candidates acceptable to the president-elect.

ABC’s Jake Tapper Said “In Order To Be Truly Transparent,” The Obama Administration Must Disclose Any Role It May Have Had In The Blagojevich Scandal. “On its website, President-elect Obama’s Transition Team is making a big deal about transparency, posting memos and information about meetings with various, largely supportive organizations. True transparency means a little more than that, one might posit. It means telling voters about matters that aren’t entirely comfortable to share. And that would mean that in order to truly be transparent, the American people need to find out as much as possible, as soon as possible, about what role anyone Team Obama played in any of the various shenanigans Gov. Blagojevich is accused of committing — or any others we don’t yet know about.” (Jake Tapper, “Obama’s Answer On Blagojevich — And The Questions It Raises,” ABC’s “Political Punch” Blog,www.abc.com, 12/9/08)

The RNC has helpfully put together a video detailing the long, close relationship between Blagobama:

Either Obama is the most clueless man ever (isn’t he some sort of mega brazilliant Harvard grad?) or he’s just a big, fat liar. Judging by the company he keeps (Blago, Rezko, Khalidi, Ayers, and, oh, how the list goes on and on), it is not a great leap of logic to deduce that our incoming president is a man of poor judgment who has a propensity for telling untruths. Status quObama: more of the same old, same old Washington.

DEMOCRAT Gov. Rod Blagojevich Arrested

 

Yes, please let us make that clear. Gov. Blago of Illinois, arrested on federal corruption charges, is a DEMOCRAT. Many MSM media outlets could not seem to find room in their coverage to mention that inconvenient truth, so I want all readers to be clear that Blagojevich is a DEMOCRAT. Oh, and Gov. Blagojevich’s Chief of Staff, John Harris, was also arrested. Mr. Harris, too, is a DEMOCRAT. They are truly the party of jackasses.

[Michelle Malkin has more here.]