Obama Names Rationing Expert, FreeMarket Hater to head Medicare/Medicaid

....Gee, could death panels be far behind? The Annointed One Barack Hussein Obama has named an avowed hater of the free market and an expert on healthcare rationing to head up Medicare and Medicaid. Seniors, you should be revoking your memberships in AARP now and going to their headquarters with signs that say traitors, et tu aarp? and the like. They have sold you out to Barack Obama and his rationing administration. Let me give you an introduction to Donald Berwick:

In a 2008 while speaking on the British health care system in the UK, Berwick said wealthy individuals must redistribute their wealth to those less fortunate for health care funding. Also during this speech, he told those in attendance that he opposes free markets.

“Any health care funding plan that is just equitable civilized and humane must, must redistribute wealth from the richer among us to the poorer and the less fortunate. Excellent health care is by definition redistributional.”

And, it appears he is an expert on rationing care:

With Congress officially on recess, President Obama will on Wednesday use his ability to make recess appointments to name one of his more controversial nominees: Donald Berwick, nominee to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

The April nomination of Berwick -- president and chief executive officer of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement -- was in trouble and might not have been able to meet Senate confirmation due to comments Berwick made in the past about rationing health care. Even if Berwick could have been confirmed by the Senate, Democrats have little appetite for another round of fighting about changes to the health care system, Democrats said.

In an interview last year with Biotechnology Healthcare, Berwick said society makes decisions about rationing all the time, and that the "decision is not whether or not we will ration care -- the decision is whether we will ration with our eyes open. And right now, we are doing it blindly."

He has also praised the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), which he said had "developed very good and very disciplined, scientifically grounded, policy-connected models for the evaluation of medical treatments from which we ought to learn."

Said Berwick, "You can say, 'Well, we shouldn’t even look.' But that would be irrational. The social budget is limited -- we have a limited resource pool. It makes terribly good sense to at least know the price of an added benefit, and at some point we might say nationally, regionally, or locally that we wish we could afford it, but we can’t. We have to be realistic about the knowledge base."

Berwick said the degree to which the knowledge base is "linked directly to policy and decision is a matter of choice. You could make it advisory, or you could make it mandatory, or you could make it a policy rule. But to remain ignorant of the cost implications of a drug that is marginally better than what is already out there is simply bad policy."

I am sure Zeke "Mengele" Emmanuel is pleased to have another person who advocates killing the very young and elderly, not everyone is happy, including some Dems:

Echoing Republicans, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Wednesday blasted the Obama administration for sidestepping Congress to install Donald Berwick atop the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

"Senate confirmation of presidential appointees is an essential process prescribed by the Constitution that serves as a check on executive power and protects Montanans and all Americans by ensuring that crucial questions are asked of the nominee — and answered," Baucus said in a statement.

Berwick had not been vetted by the Finance panel, nor had Baucus scheduled a hearing to examine the nominee.

Well, Maxi, if you hadn't help get Obamacare out of committee with that ignorant RINO dupe Olympia Snowe ("When press exposure calls, I whore out), we wouldn't have to worry about the implications of having a lunatic rationer who wants old people to hurry up and die in charge of Medicaid and Medicare.

Ugh, where do they get these people?

OH-12 Update: Dems Target Tiberi

If you hear a lot of laughter in the center-right Ohiosphere today it might have something to do with the Democrats "targetting" Congressman Tiberi in OH-12.

All I can say is that it must be an awfully slow political news day if journalists are actually writing about this...

This "spreading it around" mentality is going to cost the Democrats OH-01, OH-15, OH-18 and possibly OH-16 as well.

John Boehner (R-OH) on Congressman Tim Mahoney (D-FL)

Statement:

WASHINGTON, DC – House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today issued the following statement regarding reports that Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-FL) paid more than $120,000 in hush money to a former staffer:

“This is a gravely serious matter, and to date, the collective response from Speaker Pelosi, Congressmen Emanuel, Congressman Van Hollen, and Congressman Mahoney has been entirely inadequate.

“The American people, beginning with the people of Florida’s 16th Congressional District, deserve to know the facts immediately about Congressman Mahoney’s conduct. They are also entitled to know immediately what House Democratic leaders knew about it, when they knew it, and what they did with the information. Congressman Mahoney and House Democratic leaders must provide these answers to the American people at once. They should not be permitted to hide behind the shield of a nonfunctioning House ethics committee or any convenient loopholes in House rules. If this truly is ‘the most honest, open, and ethical Congress in history.

OH-16: "D.C. Power Bosses Insult Voters In 16th District"

This just in...

CANTON - Once again, an outside group is trying to exert its influence in the 16th Congressional District race.

This time it took the form of a direct mail piece put out by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

"This is very unfortunate and misleading," said Sen. Kirk Schuring.

"Senator Boccieri ought to denounce these tactics immediately and join me in asking third parties to stay out of this race."

Senator Schuring on three previous occasions has denounced third-party attack ads.

Here are some facts the DCCC attack machine conveniently left out:

Their attack says Sen. Schuring voted to raise his own pay $9,000 per year in 2000.

Fact: Senator Schuring did not accept the money and has not taken a pay raise since February 2003. In fact, he's the lowest paid Senator in Ohio and has not accepted more than $24,000 in earned compensation.

Their attack says Sen. Schuring voted to raise gas taxes, costing Ohio families $250 million per year.

Fact: Senator Schuring's vote was actually part of the overall transportation budget that created jobs and brought critical improvements to U.S. Highway 30 and Interstates 77 and 71. These three arteries are critical links to the transportation of goods and raw materials that move in and out of the 16th Congressional District.

"This is another example of how broken Washington has become. They don't understand the needs of our citizens. Local businesses here in the district were overwhelmingly in favor of this budget because of the way it improved Ohio's transportation system. This bill was an effort to boost our economy and create jobs," Schuring said.

"Its not surprising that someone from Youngstown wouldn't understand the important issues facing people in the 16th District. Perhaps if Senator Boccieri were from the district, he'd understand these issues a little better," said Schuring Campaign Manager PJ Wenzel.

Wulsin Finally Added to DCCC List

CQ Politics reports that Vic Wulsin has finally been added to the DCCC fundraising list.

NRSC Outraises Dems; GOP Not Dead

Wow. This is interesting. According to this piece on CQ Politics, the National Republican Senatorial Committee outraised their Democratic counterparts in April. Yes, they do still lag behind in the money race; but this victory is important because it shows that Republicans aren't as dead in this cycle as we all once thought.

Here, though, is the bad news:

But the DSCC has otherwise outpaced the NRSC in fundraising for the entire election cycle — $76.5 million to $47.9 million — in part because there is a strong presumption that Democrats will improve upon their 51-49 operational majority in a year in which the Republicans must defend 23 of the 35 Senate contests. Indeed, the DSCC ended April with $37.6 million cash-on-hand — or nearly twice the $19.4 million that the NRSC had left to spend as this began.

We still have a LONG way to go...

Although, I will point out the fundraising patterns for the two parties are remarkaly different. Republicans tend to donate to the RNC whereas Democrats appear to allocate their funds to the Congressional committees.

According to my math, the Republicans are actually leading in fundraising...

RNC = $143.3 million
NRCC = $69.3 million
NRSC = $47.9 million
GOP Total = $260.5 million

DNC = $77.6 million
DCCC = $92.6 million
DSCC = $76.5 million
DEM Total = $246.7 million

Sources: House, Senate, National.

RELEASE: Second Congressional District Removed From Democrat Target List

This just in...

(Cincinnati, Ohio) Congresswoman Jean Schmidt’s campaign today said that the decision to remove the Second Congressional District from the Democrat target list and abandon Victoria Wulsin’s campaign is proof that she is out of touch with the district. The target, or “red to blue” list, released by the Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) yesterday, did not list Schmidt as a target.

“This is a stunning change of course for the DCCC, and shows that they have lost faith in Dr. Wulsin’s ability to win in the Second Congressional District,” said Bruce Pfaff, Schmidt for Congress spokesman.

Schmidt is running for the third time and a second full term in congress. In last week’s Primary election, Schmidt won by a wide margin in all seven counties of the Second Congressional District.

Pfaff pointed out that the DCCC did include three other Ohio challengers on its list of targets, which makes the decision to abandon Wulsin’s campaign even more significant.

“Congresswoman Schmidt has proven to her constituents that she represents their issues, and the decision by the DCCC to remove the Second Congressional District from its targeted race list is a strong testament to that fact,” Pfaff added.

“Even Congresswoman Schmidt’s first Democrat opponent, Paul Hackett, who was quoted in an article about the DCCC decision, acknowledges she will be difficult to beat,” said Pfaff. “Congresswoman Schmidt will work hard to deliver her message to every corner and community in the district and expects to bring home a big victory in November for Republicans,” Pfaff concluded.

UPDATE: I just got an email from a reader who pointed out this piece from Parker Novak back in 2006 where Wulsin was considered a big enough of a threat to Jean Schmidt that she was added to the "Red-to-Blue" program...but, as my emailer says, that was then, this is now!