Can't Say I Didn't Warn You

While some celebrated the passing of the Christmas Eve health insurance legislation in Congress, sensible folks lamented its passing for a variety of reasons.  First, as I've noted on more than one occasion providing health insurance to most Americans, does nothing to improve access to quality of healthcare for all Americans. Case in point:

The Mayo Clinic, praised by President Barack Obama as a national model for efficient health care, will stop accepting Medicare patients as of tomorrow at one of its primary-care clinics in Arizona, saying the U.S. government pays too little.


More than 3,000 patients eligible for Medicare, the government’s largest health-insurance program, will be forced to pay cash if they want to continue seeing their doctors at a Mayo family clinic in Glendale, northwest of Phoenix, said Michael Yardley, a Mayo spokesman. The decision, which Yardley called a two-year pilot project, won’t affect other Mayo facilities in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota.

Look for more top quality healthcare facilities to follow suit in the coming months and years. And, where will this leave us? Well, like most big expensive government entitlement programs, it will leave us even deeper in debt, and an insolvent program that fails to deliver as promised.  Oh sure, the program won't be a total loss. In fact, for those states whose Senators were into selling their votes, this legislation will prove to be a big win:

New Mexico Sens. Tom Udall and Jeff Bingaman on Wednesday criticized special deals that Democratic leaders struck with some senators to win support for a sweeping Senate health care bill headed for passage today.
    
But the two Democrats said the deals weren't enough to justify voting against a measure they said would benefit New Mexicans.

Senate leaders offered Sen. Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat, 100 percent federal subsidies for new Medicaid beneficiaries added to his state's rolls under the Senate legislation. Other senators wrangled separate financial concessions for their states in exchange for their support for the Senate bill.

Sorry, criticizing the deals after the fact, but voting in a manner that tacitly endorses the deals doesn't really hold water. Pretending this was a win for New Mexicans is a little less than honest:

According to Udall, the Senate health care overhaul would eventually insure 91 percent of New Mexicans, improve rural health care and grant permanent reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, among other things. 

Think about that for a moment. Despite promises that this "landmark legislation" would insure all Americans, in New Mexico, the best outcome will be to insure 91% of New Mexicans... EVENTUALLY.  When this does EVENTUALLY happen, you can't help but wonder how many of the newly insured still won't have access to quality healthcare because they won't be able to find an institution willing to take their insurance.


What a mess.

Why is This so Hard to Understand?

I was vehemently opposed to regional cap and trade legislation introduced this past session because it would put New Mexico at an economic disadvantage and drive one of the cornerstones of our economy, the oil and gas industry, to other states while accomplishing nothing to deal with the global warming obsession that has been so heartily embraced by the left.

Quite honestly, rushing through national cap and trade legislation during a time of economic crisis would be equally foolish. Heck, for that matter, rushing through any far-reaching legislation on the federal level during any kind of crisis sets a bad precedent. So, my hat is off to Senator Jeff Bingaman:

Bingaman, who has worked for years to pass climate change legislation, joined Republicans for last week's vote because he did not want to short-circuit the deliberation needed to come up with a workable bill, spokeswoman Jude McCartin said.

The rules being considered would have allowed climate change legislation to be folded into the Senate's consideration of the federal budget, which allows limited debate and requires 51 votes for passage.

There are those who believe the world is warming on and on the road to an impending doom (I'm not one of them), but at least cooler heads have prevailed in the Senate.

So You Think You're a Moderate?

Ever wonder what someone means when they say they're a moderate Republican? Well, it looks like the "stimulus package" vote has defined the term moderate for the modern era:

Details are starting to emerge on the blending of House and Senate versions of the stimulus package. Two senior Democratic sources said negotiators had agreed on a top line number of $800 billion, but later one of those sources said the number could be even less. Both would be less than either the Senate's $838 billion bill or the House's $819 billion package.

Several sources involved told CNN that the number is lower to satisfy the three moderate Republican senators.

Wow, talk about showing restraint. Senator Specter, Senator Snowe and Senator Collins sure do know how to drive a hard bargain. Good thing they were there to push the envelope and shave 2% or so off of that mammoth spending proposal. Can you imagine the world of hurt future generations of Americans would have been in if they had not fought tooth and nail to keep that spending down in THIS SECOND $800 BILLION ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE IN LESS THAN SIX MONTHS!

Sorry, didn't mean to yell.

NM Senate Proving Camera Shy

Yesterday afternoon I thought enough of the Senate Democrats call for full transparency in the confirmation process of gubernatorial appointees to do a rare midday post. I went so far as to title the post, What's the Governor Trying to Hide? Unfortunately, it looks like this is a case of what's good for the goose is NOT good for the gander:

I just saw a Capitol maintainance worker taking down the cameras in the Senate gallery that had been purchased and installed for the purpose of webcasting state Senate floor sessions.

Last month I reported that the state Senate leadership had decided not to start webcasting this year despite the fact that the full Senate last year voted overwhelmingly to Webcast and had already spent $30,000 to buy and install cameras for that purpose.

With new instances of scandal breaking daily, you'd think everyone in government right now would be working overtime to make the process as transparent as possible - not the either way around.

What's the Governor Trying to Hide?

I can't believe what I just read in a press release issued by the Senate Democrats:

Today I conveyed a request to the Governor asking that he reconsider his lack of support for the Senate Rules Committee's new confirmation process a process which reflects the deepening sensitivity to ethics and good governmental conduct in the State. Last year the Committee brought greater accountability and credibility to the confirmation procedure, said Senator Linda M. Lopez (D-Bernalillo-11), but our efforts were brought to a halt when the Governor ordered the Department of Public Safety to stop making appointee background checks available to the Committee.

What possible reason could the Governor have to keep the committee responsible for confirming appointments in the dark? Without checks, there are no balances.

U.S Senate is Out of Touch

The Senate voted overwhelmingly for a bailout bill, and at the same time they took advantage of "the ecnomic crisis" to help some their favorite pet projects to some pork. That should convince you that it is business as usual in the U.S. Senate, and I hope the people's representatives in the House don't lose their backbone when it comes time to once again vote this bill down.

No Still Means No

The bailout plan failed, and contrary to the predictions of those in Washington, the world as we know it didn't come crashing down around our feet. So, what did we all do? We went about our daily business knowing that we would have to tighten up our belts and control our personal spending.

What did those in Congress do? Well, they decided: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again:

[House Republican Whip Roy] Blunt said one of the reasons he is more optimistic is that lawmakers are hearing less vocal opposition from their districts. He said that calls and e-mails to congressional offices that were running about 90 percent against the measure earlier now are at about "50-50."

Really, it's now "50-50." Any chance that's because we already told you how we felt, and now we actually have to make a living. Let me try and explain this for our Congressional Representatives the way I would explain it to my kids.

"I told you 'no' already, and I shouldn't have to keep telling you 'no.'"

Does Congress really think that 40 percent of the American public has changed their mind since last week? Why would we do that? What would be the cause. Nothing has changed for us. Everything is the same. We spoke loudly last week, and in a surprising turn of events, the Congress actually acted as Representatives of the people and voted down the bailout bill.

Now, if you want to go ahead and increase the FDIC insurance level, knock yourselves out. But, if you want to bundle that with a Wall Street bailout, please let me be clear... My answer is still a firm and resounding, "NO."

What's Tom Udall Doing in Congress?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but what Tom Udall is doing in Congress is voting to raise taxes on the middle class, families and small businesses. Of course, don't take my word for it. Instead, read what Democratic Congressman Bill Foster (IL-14) had to say about the tax bill that Tom Udall voted to pass:

“I can’t support a budget, from either party, that raises taxes on the middle class. This bill hurts families all across the 14th District by eliminating the 10-percent bracket for lower-income taxpayers, reinstating the marriage penalty and increasing taxes on small businesses and investments.

I campaigned on a platform of middle class tax relief, and I was elected to Washington to bring about change. When asked to choose between my party and the people I represent, I will choose the families of the 14th District every single time.”

Before my readers on the left start leaving comments about how Congressman Bill Foster is just some sort of rogue Democratic Congressman, I think you ought to watch the recent video endorsement by one of the Congressman's supporters.



So where does that leave us? Well, I think that leaves us with a novel concept that Tom Udall might want to consider... putting families before party. Congressman Tom Udall wants to become Senator Tom Udall, yet he's voting to eliminate the 10-percent bracket for lower income taxpayers.

In case you're wondering what someone in the 10-percent bracket is earning, if they're single, the answer is up to $8,025 per year. If they're married filing jointly, it is $16,050 per year. Let me put that another way. We're talking about people barely making the minimum wage, and Congressman Tom Udall voted to raise their taxes.

Is there any wonder that most people think Congressman Tom Udall is too liberal to be elected to represent everyday New Mexicans in the Senate?

Steve Pearce Enters the Senate Race

Well, it looks like Congressman Pearce is not going to take the career path I laid out for him. That's unfortunate, not because Steve would be a bad Junior Senator, but because he could have accomplished so much more as New Mexico's next Governor.

Speaking of the Governor, it looks like that House of Cards Governor Bill Richardson built is falling apart everywhere we look. In the Albuquerque area that the Governor's really expensive train is costing more and more with each passing day:

When reporters pressed him on plans for funding the Rail Runner, he was noncommittal about where the money will come from— repeating it would come from state and federal funds.

One powerful lawmaker wondered if earmarking state dollars to operate the Rail Runner might harm other state programs.

"I want to see where they find the money, what programs they take it from," said Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, and chairman of the Legislative Finance Committee.

Sixty percent of the state budget goes to education, 25 percent to health and seven percent to corrections, Smith said.

"Until people sit down and think about it, it gets people off his back," Smith said of Richardson's comment. "But he is acknowledging that it does need money. They've never acknowledged that before. Now we are just down to finding out what pot it will come from."

As if this was problematic enough, the Governor's other expensive investment, that Spaceport experiment, has also run into quite a few hiccups:

The state won't allow Doña Ana County to delay the collection of a spaceport sales tax, county officials said Friday.

There's a chance the county could take legal action to keep the tax from being collected.

The county commission passed a resolution Wednesday to delay collecting the tax until proper framework was in place to spend it. But the state taxation and revenue department notified the county Friday that the action wasn't valid, despite saying earlier that it was, said County Commission Chairwoman Karen Perez.

What does this all have to do with Steve Pearce entering the US Senate race? Well, I believe these financial woes are just a taste of what is to come. Which means that although there has been a national tide against Republicans, I expect we will not see that replicated in New Mexico come the 2008 general election cycle. Sure, we're going to see a spirited race for the open US Senate seat, but I believe in the general election, we're going to see the Senate and Congressional seats that are up for grabs remain in Republican hands. And, early polls in the first Congressional District seems to support that.

Steve Pearce for U.S. Senate

I don't understand the thinking behind people asking Congressman Steve Pearce to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Senator Domenici. Now don't get me wrong. I'm a HUGE fan of Congressman Pearce. I just don't see how running to be New Mexico's Junior Senator representing the minority party at age 60 makes sense for a man with such a bright future.

Think about it.

By the end of the Congressman's second term in the Senate, about the time he would be moving up in the seniority ranks, he would be 72 years old - three years younger than Senator Domenici is today. That's not to say he wouldn't want to keep going into his 80's, but why would he want to do that?

If you're thinking I'm advocating for Steve just to spend the rest of his days comfortably ensconced in his current Congressional seat, you're wrong. That may be okay for someone like Congressman Tom Udall, a career politician from a political family. But, a leader like Steve Pearce can actually accomplish so much more.

Steve's a self-made business man from VERY humble beginnings who has a net worth that had him ranked in 2005 as the 22nd wealthiest member of the House. That means he could easily throw two to three million into a political race, and I think he should.

I think Steve Pearce should run for Governor in 2010. It just makes a whole lot more sense.

Like another self-made man, who was the first to be elected to two consecutive terms as Governor in New Mexico, Steve could provide the leadership and fiscal restraint that has been so sorely lacking on the fourth floor since Bill Richardson landed in the Governor's seat. At 62 years old, with millions in the bank and an impressive political, personal and business resume Congressman Pearce could surely win the Governor's seat - no matter who the Democrats put forth.

From there, well, as Governor Richardson has demonstrated, the sky is the limit. If Hilary Clinton were to win the Presidential election next year, and somehow managed to be elected to a second term, there is one thing that could be certain. By 2016, the country would be a mess and in need of a strong conservative leader.

In 2016, Steve Pearce would be a 69 year old, accomplished, conservative Western Governor with a leadership track record in politics and business second to none. Hmm, kind of reminds me of someone else who became the leader of the free world at 69 years of age.