Archive for May, 2009
Notes from Montana
Posted by Brendan in health care on May 29, 2009
I arrived in Billings, Montana yesterday to organize some grassroots resistance against government-run health care and the taxes being proposed to pay for it. Montana is a beautiful state with a lot of open space, rolling hills and snow-capped mountains. Driving from town to
town is a real treat.
Yesterday I met with some conservative activists and talked about FreedomWorks’ strategy to fight government-run health care. I talked with Dave, a former city council member and local activist at the Muzzle Loader Cafe. The food was good, but not great. Dave is a very interesting person and I enjoyed swapping war stories with him and talking about how we can try to prevent our country from heading over a cliff toward outright socialism.
Billings is the largest town in Montana, at 100,000, and it has an interesting downtown, but not a whole lot of restaurants or bars. Last night I had a late dinner and drinks at the Rex Hotel in the historic district along Montana Ave. I tried the Missoula-based Bent Nail beer, which is a local IPA. Not bad at all.
Early this morning I left for Bozeman, two hours west of Billings. Bozeman is a cool college town — home of Montana State University. It definitely has a kind of liberal, hippie vibe like Austin or Burlington, Vermont. Main street is lined with coffee shops offering organic coffee, art galleries and college students. I met with a local volunteer, and then we headed over to Senator Max Baucus’s office to express our concerns with his plans for a government takeover of health care, and the idea of taxing alcohol and soda to pay for it. The staff was getting calls even as we were meeting with them. They told us that they have heard from a lot of people against socialized medicine, and that Sen. Baucus will not be pushing a single-payer system. The staff was nice and very accommodating, and gave us their contact information so we could stay in touch.
I had lunch with the head of the Montana Policy Institute, who filled me in on local politics and his work at the new think tank. We agreed to work together as much as possible on issues like taxes, the budget, health care and energy. We are planning to try and work toward a better organization among all the different grassroots groups in Montana. I’m looking forward to working toward that goal as I head to Helena right now. I will be meeting with activists there, as well as Senator Baucus’s staff. I’ll try to post another blog either tonight or tomorrow.
Judge Sotomayor’s candid admission of activism
In the video below, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor publicly noted that she believes judges should make law. While she tried to walk it back, it’s clear what she meant, and what she will do as a Supreme Court justice. The Sotomayor pick is the intersection of activist judges and identity politics. Welcome to the age of Obama.
Video of Dick Cheney and Barack Obama on national security
Yesterday former Vice President Dick Cheney and President Barack Obama gave dueling speeches about national security. Below are excerpts from the speeches, which covered enhanced interrogation methods, including waterboarding.
Cheney is not a popular figure, to say the least, but he is making his case to the American people anyway. Clearly Obama felt compelled to defend his stance on national security in light of Cheney’s public statements. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the debate over what to do with captured terrorists.
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Maggie Roark
I love this take on my second favorite book (Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead), brought to you by The Simpsons.
Washington Times quotes me on the tea parties
Posted by Brendan in FreedomWorks on May 9, 2009
Don Lambro of The Washington Times wrote this story for Sunday’s Washington Times. Here is the excerpt where he quotes me about the 9-12 March on Washington, as well as the makeup of the tea party movement.
Early signals suggest that a large political head of steam is building under the upcoming demonstrations.
“I am amazed by the energy created by all of this and I think that is what you are going to see in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 12,” said Brendan Steinhauser, a coordinator for the free market advocacy group Freedom Works, chaired by former House Republican leader Dick Armey of Texas.
“Congress will be back in session after its August recess, talking about budgets. We’ve got 3,000 people signed up so far on our Web site, but it’s early and the energy level is high,” Mr. Steinhauser said.
The April 15 tea parties have already had an influence on Washington officials. Just days after the rallies, President Obama asked his Cabinet to find $100 million in spending cuts in their department budgets – a hastily-crafted initiative that Republicans ridiculed as a minuscule fraction of his $3.5 trillion budget.
Republicans, however, have been just as unsuccessful in tapping into this group of voters Mr. Steinhauser describes as “sort of a mixture of libertarians, independent-minded people who lean conservative and even Democrats who are leery of all this spending in Congress.”
Pictures from School Choice Rally in DC’s Freedom Plaza
I just got back from Freedom Plaza, where hundreds rallied for school choice in DC. Speakers included former mayors, current city councilmen, civil rights activists, entertainers, parents, and students. I saw Marion Barry, Anthony Williams, and singers Mya and Ginuwine at the rally.
There was a big crowd and they were energetic. One of the best speeches was given by a student that said his life is completely different with the opportunity for a better education. He goes to Georgetown Day School in the district.
After the rally volunteers marched across the street and delivered 7000 signatures in support of the DC Opportunity Scholarships Program to the mayor’s office. Let’s hope that the mayor and the city council listen to the people.
Marching over to the city government offices:
Former DC mayor Marion Barry speaks out in favor of school choice:
Entertainers Mya and Genuine leave the stage after speaking in favor of the DC voucher program:
Young students who have benefited from school choice:
One student who has benefited from the DC voucher program speaks out in its favor:
Here is a great video from Reason about the school choice program these parents, kids and community leaders are trying to save.
Rep. John Shadegg on Health Care
Posted by Brendan in health care on May 6, 2009
Conservative Congressman John Shadegg (R-AZ) has a good piece in today’s Washington Times about health care reform.
Instead of being a faceless number in a government plan as Democrats are proposing, wrestling with endless wait lists and shortages, and instead of being told by a Department of Motor Vehicles-style bureaucrat that her daughter can’t have the medicine she needs because the government doesn’t think it’s “cost-effective,” she would have the guarantee of affordable, personalized and reliable private care. She can have the freedom to choose – her doctor, her plan, her priorities for her and her family.
In other words, while both liberals and conservatives may promise universal “coverage,” only conservatives will provide universal “care.” What good is insurance if all it buys you is a spot on a waiting list?
Rep. Shadegg talks about how Republicans must deliver their ideas better, not change their core principles. It’s worth reading the entire piece.
Should the GOP change its message?
Posted by Brendan in Conservatism on May 3, 2009
Reihan Salam has an interesting, thoughtful piece in today’s Washington Post about the future of the Republican Party. While I don’t agree with all of his prescriptions, he does make some interesting points. He argues that conservatives have to be better at talking about health care, energy and transportation, among other issues. I agree with that, as long as the GOP doesn’t give up its principles in order to try and win votes. The key is using the right language to communicate that Republicans have ideas and solutions based on market economics and freedom that work. They have the truth on their side, but haven’t been able to convey it recently. Here is Reihan’s take on the Pennsylvania Senate race heating up for 2010.
With Specter running in Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary in 2010, Republicans have a perfect test case. There’s an excellent chance that a primary candidate from the Democratic left will give Specter a serious fight, opening him up to a vigorous challenge from a Republican reformer. That challenge will probably come from Pat Toomey, who, as head of the Club for Growth, has emphasized tax cuts above all else. But as a Senate candidate, Toomey will have to connect with voters in a state hard hit by industrial decline. To have even the remotest chance of winning the seat, he’ll need to offer effective solutions on health care, energy and transportation. This might not come naturally to Toomey. But if he can pull it off, and if he can claim Specter’s scalp, he’ll become the face of a revitalized GOP.
I think all of us conservatives are hoping that Toomey can pull this off and set the tone for the future of the GOP.
Matt Kibbe on the Tea Party Movement
Posted by Brendan in FreedomWorks on May 1, 2009
FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe explains why the left has gone unhinged over the tea party movement. His analysis is posted at reason.com
Judging from the left’s hysterical reaction, something really big must have happened. But the only way to really understand the left’s misinformed and paranoid attacks is to realize that the protests represent tangible proof that basic libertarian values continue to resonate with the American electorate. That, apparently, is a difficult thing for some to accept.
I attended the tea party in Atlanta along with 15,000 other activists, and was struck by the makeup of the crowd. This was not a typical conservative Republican rally, with local GOP activists, Ron Paul enthusiasts, and single-issue obsessives. (Those folks always show up—and they did in Atlanta.) The difference was the new people: Young hipsters, families, angry moms, and retirees alike left their normal routines and work obligations to show up in protest of government policies that they passionately believe will ruin what is unique about America.
What were the tea parties about? Reading the signs and talking to people (unlike CNN’s incredibly hostile Susan Roesgen, I actually let folks answer my questions in their own words), the “agenda” was crystal clear. Tea party activists were worried and angry about government bailouts for the irresponsible, about spending that “stimulated” record growth in government and not much else, and about government borrowing that will place unconscionable burdens on future generations of Americans. My favorite sign of the day: “Give Me Liberty, Not Debt.”
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