Communications

Nancy Pelosi declared <http://thehill.com/homenews/house/72561-pelosi-im-in-campaign-mode?page=5>  to reporters yesterday that she's in “campaign mode. 

Some Democrats may want to know whether that's a threat or a promise. 

According to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126100346902694549.html> , “Fifty-two percent said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who agreed with the speaker almost all the time.”

There should be little wonder why this is the case. The speaker, with the help of her majority, has pushed through the House some very unpopular and damaging pieces of legislation.

From the $787 billion “stimulus” that has created no jobs <http://www.gop.com/index.php/briefing/comments/broken_records> , to cap and trade legislation which would cost the economy $161 billion <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124588837560750781.html>  by one estimate, to a government-run healthcare plan that would hike costs $289 billion < ... more

Chairman Michael Steele and Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and John Thune (R-SD) discuss the Democrats’ government takeover of health care and encourage Americans to take action.  

President Obama told Charlie Gibson in an interview today that anyone concerned with rising health care costs, the state of Medicare and the rising federal deficit needs to support the Democrats’ health care plans.

The problem is the Democrats’ plans for government-run health care do not solve any of these problems.

A recent analysis by CMS finds that the Senate Democrats’ health care plan will actually increase total spending on health care.  CMS also found that promises to save money on Medicare may be unrealistic and, furthermore, drive providers away from participating in Medicare altogether.

American voters are not buying the president’s sales pitch either.

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds that by 20-point margins Americans think Democrats’ proposals for government-run health care would do more to raise costs and weaken Medicare. The same poll finds that two-thirds of those surveyed think the Democrats’ plans would increase the federal deficit. 

“We are all in the dark”

“We welcome the scrutiny from the press,” President Obama declared today, adding, “I am absolutely confident that if the American people know what's in this bill, and if the Senate knows what's in this bill, that this is going to pass because it's right for America.”

Obviously it is impossible at this point for media or the American people to scrutinize the Senate’s bill- the entire process has taken place behind closed doors.

Even Senate Democrat leadership has been in the dark about the details of Harry Reid’s plan for government-run health care.

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“I should say to the Senator from Arizona, I’m in the dark almost as much as he is,” Senator Dick Durbin, Floor Remarks, 12/11/09

“There is a potential for radicalization in a number of ways, whether it be for gang activity, for terrorist groups, for other extremists,” FBI Director Robert Mueller, testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, May 20, 2009

The Obama Administration is ignoring the concerns of its FBI director.

The Chicago Tribune reports today that the president is going to send up to 100 suspected terrorists currently housed at Gitmo to the Thomson Correctional Facility in Illinois.

Not only is the Obama White House ignoring the warnings of its own FBI Director, they are ignoring the will of the people of Illinois as well. By a 51% to 39% margin Illinois voters oppose relocating suspected terrorists to a prison in their state according to a recent Rasmussen Survey.

Today RNC chairman Michael Steele discussed Republican efforts to stop the Democrats health care experiment on America. Watch here:

RNC Chairman Michael Steele holds a press conference 12/14/09 from RNC New Media on Vimeo.

Two things have become increasingly clear over the past several months: voters do not want government-run health care and Democrats are not listening to their concerns.

Today, the RNC released a new radio ad, “Make Washington Listen,” which will air nationally as Senate Democrats try to impose their health care experiment on America. The ad urges Americans to contact their Senators and make their concerns known. Listen to the radio ad here.

The American people have already seen Democrats spend billions on policies meant to stimulate the economy that have not yielded any results.

Now, in the name of health care reform, Democrats are proposing more spending still. Their plan to have government take over our health care system would create a vast new entitlement which will increase deficits, raise taxes and lower the quality of health care.

Democrats know America doesn’t want a government takeover of health care, it’s time for Democrats to start listening.  

Well that was fast.

It hasn’t been 7 days since Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid proclaimed a break-through in the health care negotiations he has been holding behind closed doors.  We were led to believe Reid had found a flavor of government-run health care that Democrats could finally coalesce around.

That was then, this is now.

"I'm concerned that it's the forerunner of single-payer - the ultimate single-payer plan, maybe even more directly than the public option,” Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska told “Face the Nation” this past Sunday. 

Democrat Claire McCaskill threatened to vote against a health care bill that doesn’t slow costs or raises the deficit.

Many Democrats know government-run health care is trouble, and many of them know the more their constituents learn the details of Harry Reid’s plan the more they dislike it. 

The only question left is whether Democrats like Ben Nelson and Claire McCaskill will listen to their constituents and vote against government-run health ... more

CNN’s latest poll finds support for Democrats is “down from a 10-point advantage in August and a 25-point margin in January.” The head of CNN’s polling unit concludes that the shift away from Democrats can be attributed to the healthcare debate.

In particular, the CNN poll finds that more than six in 10 say they oppose the Senate health care bill. In addition, a “very large majority of Americans,” think government-run healthcare would raise the deficit, their taxes and “only one in five” think the bill would benefit them personally.

CNN’s poll is just the latest in a string of polls out this week to demonstrate a distinct shift away from Democrats’ and their unpopular policies such as government-run healthcare.

A Fox News poll out today finds 57% oppose the legislation Democrats are trying to push through Congress and “a 54 percent majority says they would rather Congress ‘do nothing on healthcare for now’.”

A Rasmussen poll out Monday found that 51% oppose the Senate Democrats’ ... more

Republican

National

Committee

Office of the Chairman

December 10, 2009

STRATEGY MEMORANDUM

TO:                      Republican Leaders

FROM:                  Michael Steele, Chairman Of The Republican National Committee

SUBJECT:               GOP Health Care Strategy For December

Where We Are

Americans are deeply concerned about the economy. Our economic situation is precarious, and the financial crisis that was the root of our downturn is not over. This, along with unemployment remaining in double digits, has Americans feeling anxious and uncertain about their future.

The American people want health care reform that makes careful common-sense adjustments to our current system. But over the past several months, as more and more of the truth about the Democrats’ proposals has been revealed, Americans have come to the conclusion that the Obama-Pelosi-Reid bill is NOT the right solution. The latest Rasmussen poll shows this mood clearly:

• 51 percent opposed to the ... more