The Minority Report
2/9/2012
Related: C-SPAN offers six videos from today’s session, all worthwhile. We urge you to watch Reps. Steve King and Michele Bachmann.
Update: Romney meets privately with conservative leaders at CPAC
Mitt Romney met quietly with a small group of conservative leaders in Washington on Thursday in an effort to reassure Republicans who remain skeptical about his candidacy, CNN has learned…
…Romney huddled with a group of 30 people – which included officials from the National Rifle Association and the American Conservative Union along with some Republican donors – for about an hour, one participant told CNN.
Romney is slated to address CPAC Friday along with his two main rivals for the GOP nomination, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich…
…”He knows exactly how people are reacting and feeling right now,” the participant said of the Romney meeting. “He is going to have to give a big speech tomorrow and I think he just wanted to make some people feel comfortable. It’s just an opportunity to talk to some friends.”…
Update 2: Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin Joins with GOP Sen. Marco Rubio in Bill to Stop President Barack Obama’s Assault on Religious Freedom in America – Video 2/9/12
Here is video [link above] of Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin appearing with GOP Sen. Marco Rubio on “Fox & Friends” this morning. Manchin explained why he is joining Rubio in condemning President Obama’s move against religious liberty in the United States. Manchin said he is co-sponsoring a bill with Rubio to stop Obama’s plan to force religious institutions to provide health insurance that covers contraception and the Morning After Abortion Pill – even if it violates their religious beliefs, as in the case of the Catholic Church. Manchin said he has repeatedly tried to get President Obama to take out that mandate, to no avail. Manchin said strongly that he views this as a religious freedom issue, and that the President is out of line.
Manchin said, “There are more of us than you think out here,” referring to Democrats and Republicans willing to work together on issues like Religious Freedom.
Also, No Waiver for Thee
There have been over 1200 waivers handed out for companies to avoid complying with parts of Obamacare, including waivers that cover over half a million labor union members — and fewer than 70,000 non-union workers.
Today it is being reported that 10 states are being granted waivers from certain provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act because they will not be able to have enough students proficient in math and reading by 2014. Did anyone think that a federal law would actually change student performance? Fox News quotes a government official who says that “28 other states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, ‘have indicated their intent to seek flexibility.'”
These companies and states are getting waivers because they can’t meet certain standards, or because the cost of complying with the rules are too high. These are all fine reasons, and I think the bar for a state or company to avoid a high-cost federal mandate should be fairly low. But none of these reasons has anything to do with a constitutionally-protected right (or at least not one that the Supreme Court has yet recognized).
Apparently, then, the only people who can’t get waivers are Catholic and other religious organizations whose objection to a rule is actually protected by the Constitution…
Read the whole thing.
The Contraception Edict: An Assault on Liberty. We’re seeing Obamacare’s future and how it works.
…The action also exposes — at the beginning of this presidential election season — the fundamental view of liberty enshrined in Obamacare. Thomas Jefferson wrote “The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.” Another political leader noted, “Liberty is precious. That is why it must be rationed.” That was Lenin. You tell me which worldview shapes the contraception edict.
Update 3: Heh. Noted Moron Who Isn’t Smart Enough To Be President Somehow Delivers Coherent Speech about Liberty and Government
