PRESS RELEASE
Representative discusses Obamacare, sequestration, and out-of-control spending in Washington
23 April 2013, Cary, NC — US Representative Renee Ellmers (R) was the featured speaker at the April meeting of the Western Wake Republican Club on Monday. The Congresswoman, who was recently re-elected for her 2nd term in the US House of Representatives made a final stop to speak to party faithful before flying back to Washington later Monday night. She was preceded on the rostrum by Habitat for Humanity’s Wake County Development Director, Melanie Rankin.
Representative Ellmers touched on a small assortment of subjects including Obamacare, sequestration and budget cuts, Mental Healthcare, and a pet legislative project (HR 1416) designed to protect local cancer treatment centers from potential funding shortfalls brought about by sequestration.
Obamacare dominated Ms. Ellmers’ comments because of its failure to improve healthcare quality and its negative impact on federal spending. According to the Congresswoman, it was the threat of the “Affordable Care Act” that drew her into the race for a congressional seat in 2010. “I knew it wasn’t the way to go,” she said. Ellmers suggested that Obamacare was a classic example of “legislative overkill” in Washington DC and indicated that the legislation is, in some respects, collapsing under its own weight. “It’s too expensive, the funds aren’t there; federal mandates are not the way to go.”
Ms. Ellmers indicated that in North Carolina, Health Insurance costs are up 65% since the law was enacted. She also suggested that the legislation is pushing the country towards an unworkable national healthcare system as hospitals “buy up” individual doctors’ practices. The antidote the Congresswoman recommended is a combination of free market reforms and legislative corrections to return control of the industry to practitioners and patients and restore Medicaid and Medicare to long-term stability.
Regarding sequestration and out of control spending, Representative Ellmers said the sequester “is actually working.” It is only a cut of 2% of the federal budget — essentially, it merely slows the rate of growth in federal spending and is not a cut at all, the Congresswoman said.
Only the Republican-controlled Congress has offered a responsible budget plan that would balance the federal budget within ten years, Ellmers said. By contrast, she pointed out, the Senate and White House budgets never balance, suggesting Democrats don’t have a viable plan to curb Washington’s profligate spending and improve prospects for out-of-work and underemployed Americans.
Representative Ellmers also fielded a few questions from the audience comprised of members and guests of the Cary and Apex Republican Clubs as well as a contingent from the noted liberal group, MoveOn.org. To a question about the repeal of Obamacare, Ellmers responded that the bill was being effectively dismantled piecemeal as provisions fail to receive funding from Congress.
When challenged about her lower-than-average rating by conservative groups, Heritage Action and Club for Growth, the Representative retorted that these organizations are not objective and “cherry pick” the legislation and votes they use to score representatives’ conservatism based on their own agendas. She said more objective organizations like the National Journal & American Conservative Union factor all legislation into their scores and they rate the Congresswoman much higher on the conservative scale—in the 90+ percent range.
One attendee challenged the Congresswoman to be as open with the public as is Representative David Price (4th District) by holding open Town Hall meetings instead of speaking only to friendly partisan groups. Ms. Ellmers accepted the challenge initially, but expressed distrust for the town hall meeting format saying it invited confrontation rather than meaningful conversation about issues. Instead, she invited the audience to participate with her in electronic (online) town hall conversations where she communicates with thousands of constituents, or to visit her website (http://ellmers.house.gov) to learn more of her policy agenda and to engage in a dialog with her there.
Meeting attendees also heard from Melanie Rankin, Development Director for Habitat for Humanity in Wake County. Ms. Rankin debunked some myths about the organization, such as the idea that Habitat homes are “free,” explaining that homeowners provide a down payment plus 250 hours of personal labor on their properties and take on an affordable 20-year mortgage. But the homes are sold for cost (no profit) and are built with volunteer labor so the program makes home-ownership accessible to many who, otherwise, could not afford it.
The Western Wake and Apex Republican Clubs are working together to organize a work day for Habitat on May 18th. Those interested can find more information on the Western Wake Club’s website at www.westernwakegop.org.
The Western Wake Republican Club meets on the 4th Monday of every month at 6pm for a social/networking hour and at 7pm for the formal meeting. Meetings typically feature guest speakers of some prominence in the GOP organization including elected officials and other policy experts as well as representatives of other community organizations with which the club may be involved. Meetings are currently being held at Mahoney’s Pub at the corner of Cary Parkway and Tryon Road in Cary. The public is always welcome.
Apex Nativity Celebration
For the 9th consecutive year, residents of the Apex community and surrounds will gather at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Apex, to commemorate the birth and life of Jesus Christ in a Nativity Celebration that has become a seasonal tradition for many. The 3-day event which began on Thursday, December 6th, features over 600 nativity scenes from around the world on display and numerous musical performances by area artists and community groups. The event culminates with a Handel’s Messiah sing-in with full orchestra and choir on Saturday evening (December 8th) at 7:30. The public is invited and the event is free.
This year’s interfaith celebration will include a Children’s Nativity Room, performances by numerous high school choirs, the Triangle Area Community Orchestra, Jerome Waller and Anointed Praised, Kids are Music, and the Holly Springs Community Band among other groups and soloists. For a complete schedule of performances, visit the Apex Christmas Nativity Celebration website at http://christmasnativity.org/apex/. Nativity scenes for this year’s display represent over 30 different countries and have been loaned to the event by more than 100 participants.
At a time when secularism reigns supreme and the real meaning of Christmas seems to be under assault, this event is a refreshing reminder that the Judeo-Christian tradition that undergirds our great republic is still alive and well in the local community. Please come and celebrate the reason for the season at this singular area event.
The Republic is under assault. Individual liberty, personal responsibility, and equal justice are being transformed before our eyes into “shared prosperity” and “social justice” under the tutelage of a master Community Organizer. In other words, republican individualism is being traded down for democratic socialism, group-think, and the collectivist ideal. The results of the 2012 election at the national level demonstrate that a strong contingency of Americans and a majority of active voters now favor the security of the nanny state over the risk and reward dynamics of the free market economy. The new normal is fine with them as long as they get their “fair share” of their neighbors’ purse.
But the margin is slim. Obama got seven million less votes in 2012 than in 2008; his victory trimmed from a 5-point margin to barely 3. Unlike most second-termers who win with broader support, Barack Obama managed to squeak out the victory in a few key states on fewer votes than his first-term election and an electoral victory that swung on as slim as a margin as a half-million votes. That’s less than 2/10 of 1% of the population.
Ironically, the spend and spend ideology by which the Democrats purchased the suffrage of the dependent class is rapidly sewing the seeds of it’s own demise. That’s why, despite our recent setbacks, Republicans, conservatives, Libertarians, Independents, and even Democrats who still believe in the America of our Fathers and of our youth, cannot afford to falter. Our mission is ever more clear and our destiny, even more certain.
The Utopian collectivist ideal being regurgitated by Barack Obama and his ilk is as doomed to failure as was the soviet bloc in the 1980′s and the faltering socialist states of Europe today. If not next year or the year after that, then in 5 years, 10 years, or twenty, unchecked by serious and dramatic reforms, the redistributed economy will fall. They always do. The debt is unsustainable. The promises can never be kept. Eventually, without a change in course, the ship of state will sink in a storm of its own creation. It’s vital, therefore, that conservatives unite to educate the public about the dangers of the present course, reverse engines where possible, and be ready to take the helm wherever and whenever opportunities arise.
To recognize and embrace those opportunities then, we must reorganize NOW! It’s time to analyze and reflect, adjust, correct our course, and re-emerge with a stronger message, a more determined offensive, and the ACTION that will prepare us for the openings that certainly will come our way. Nowhere is such an opportunity greater than here and now in North Carolina. With the first Republican legislature in 100 years and an “R” behind the name of the state’s Chief Executive; against a backdrop of high unemployment and decades of state mismanagement in a culture of corruption, this is a crisis we must not waste–an opportunity we dare not squander. WE, the PEOPLE must hold our elected officials to account and demand they apply the principles of conservative, constitutional governance to establish our state as an exemplary leader under a strong Republican brand. Let us never shrink. The day is ours to seize!
Obama was a transformed candidate in last night’s 2nd of 3 presidential debates. The President came out swinging and with the aid of yet another liberal moderator, turned in an “aggressive” performance that at least tied the Governor’s less dominant appearance, and may have even edged him out; at least in the eyes of pundits and committed voters. It may have been enough to stem the tide, but was it enough to turn it?
I don’t think so. President Obama, like Joe Biden, shored up his demoralized base, but it’s doubtful that he won over any independents or undecided voters. To the contrary, what remains of the “mass in the middle” are seeing a president who is inconsistent, often unpresidential, and offers no vision as to why one should expect the next four years to be any different–any better than the years just passed.
Governor Romney, on the other hand, again showed himself as a serious, competent, experienced executive with an actual plan to turn the tide of decline in the US. Independents looking for a viable alternative to the failed policies of BHO, saw that possibility in Mitt. His reassuring declaration that, “we don’t have to settle for what we have–we can do better” will have resonated with swing voters unhappy with the “new normal.” Obama’s constant deflecting of economic challenges, excuse-making, and hollow assaults on Romney’s plan and character, on the other hand, will continue to be a turn off among undecided voters.
Obama further damaged his own credibility–perhaps beyond repair–with respect to the Lybian crisis by suddenly claiming to have identified the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi as “an act of terror” in a Rose Garden speech the day after a US Ambassador and three other Americans were killed in a likely Al Queada military assault. While the President took great delight in how the audacity of the shocking claim struck Governor Romney, and the support he gained from “neutral” moderator, Crowley, this could prove fatal to the President’s re-election bid in the coming days. His Clintonesque parsing of his own speech to change its meaning, and his disingenuous offense at the “politicizing” of the Benghazi attack, while great political theatrics, itself, will not stand scrutiny.
So while liberal pundits and Obama supporters revel in the “points scored” by their guy, I would expect the quiet shift toward Romney to continue as the governor is seen as a bona fide US Presidential leader. Romney will likely add to his gains after this debate, mirroring the direction of change demonstrated in the Frank Luntz focus group in Las Vegas where former Obama supporters felt confident that Romney offered a better alternative for the future of America. That’s rational. And that’s a Romney WIN!
If you saw it differently, please comment and explain why.
Bruce Ackerman is a Marketing Executive, Actor and Blogger at The Rational Conservative. He lives in Cary, North Carolina and is a member of Western Wake Republican Club.
Barack Obama should never have been elected President. His election in 2008 was the perfect storm of a destabilizing economy, Chicagoland politics, Bush hate, and America’s desire to make history by crowning the first black President. All this in a context of media malpractice, willing ignorance, and misinformation.
As a result, the nation is now saddled with the least experienced, least qualified, least competent, least vetted, and therefore least prepared Chief Executive perhaps ever to have occupied the Oval Office. He has created far more problems than he has solved and his supporters are now in the unenviable position of having to defend the indefensible.
President Obama’s abysmal record speaks for itself. After almost 48 months of his regime–2 years of which he was buttressed by control of the entire government–America is actually worse off than it was when he took office.
Life Under Obama
The bullets could continue to fly but you get my point. Obama appoints commissions then ignores their advice. He skips his security briefings, but makes his Tee-times. He’s absent on policy debates, but omnipresent with executive orders and regulatory Czars. He can’t produce a budget, but scoffs at those who do. He has no time for world leaders but has plenty for his pals on The View, Letterman, and a host of puffy talk shows. He blames everyone but the family dog for his failures but takes immediate and full credit for others’ achievements. He barks from the head, but leads from behind.
It’s understandable that Americans want him to succeed. He IS after all the first black President. As historically important as that is, he is also a man, a politician, and a partisan. He’s an ideologue who is out of sync with American ideals–even the ideals of many who support him. In only one sense is BO truly non-partisan: The misery he and his policies inflict affect all of us; regardless of race, religion, socioeconomic status or political persuasion.
Barack Hussein Obama is simply not up to the task. Inadequately prepared, insufficiently vetted, unwittingly supported and unwisely elected, however noble the intent, Obama is trouble. And America is in trouble with this unfortunately incompetent governor at the helm. It’s time to see him for who he isn’t and vote for the kind of honest change that could just help us turn the corner and restore America and her people to the place of leadership, strength, and greatness that is both the example and the envy of the world. That’s rational!
Bruce Ackerman is a Marketing Executive, Actor and Blogger at The Rational Conservative. He lives in Cary, North Carolina and is a member of Western Wake Republican Club.
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Today is a singular time in America. Six years of Democrat dominance in Washington and an even longer trail of failed progressive policies has left a country wallowing in debt, reeling from the most prolonged high unemployment in history, and divided by an Administration that pits rich against poor, black against white, labor against management, and the faithful against the secular.
