Paid for by Wiggans for...Senate???

Former California Republican turned Kansas Democrat Tom Wiggans got off to a stumbling start earlier this week when he announced his bid to be the next Kansas Governor. When thanking folks for signing up to receive emails from his campaign, the thank you read it was "Paid for by Wiggans for Senate". For Senate???? Unreliable and unprofessional. Click here for the full story.

Voices of Republican Women

House Republican Whip Eric Cantor's office produced this video spotlighting House Republican women on health care in America. Women make 79% of health care decisions for their children and spend two of every three health care dollars for their families. There are three videos in the following series. Watch all three here:

A Discussion on Health Care Reform:




Medical Care and the National Debt:





The Doctor-Patient Relationships:





View all of these videos and find out more about the GOP's healthcare solutions at http://www.gop.gov/blog/09/11/06/video-voices-of-republican-women.

Jenkins Joins GOP Women Healthcare Conference Call

(From Lonely Conservative)

I sat in on a conference call with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA), Rep. Lynn Jenkins (KS), Rep. Michele Bachmann (MN) and Rep. Cynthia Lummis (WY). Also on hand were Terry Neise, a small business consultant from Oklahoma; Sandy Applet, a small business CPA; and Kelly Brewer, a hospital administrator.

Michele Bachmann was encouraged by how many Americans showed up today at the Capitol. The crowd was estimated at ten to fifteen thousand, which is pretty amazing on such short notice. Bachmann said all the power goes to the American people. She doesn’t know if Speaker Pelosi has the votes, and passage of the bill is not inevititable. She stressed that we need to continue contacting our representatives – call them, email them or show up at your district office.

Rep. Lynn Jenkins told us many of the women in the conference are mothers in the “sandwich generation” – taking care of children at home while worrying about aging parents. They understand the frustrations of American women.They’re displeased with the Pelosi plan and opposed to any government bureaucrat standing between patients and physicians.

Rep. Cynthia Lummis reiterated that the Democrats’ bill will cost taxpayers billions, as well as the billions in unfunded mandates forced onto the states. She said the Democrats’ long term goal is government run health care for all of us; and pointed out that after 2013 Americans will no longer be able to purchase individual insurance plans. Lummis told us the bill weighs over 20 pounds, and contrasted it with the constitution. She said the constitution frees up our rights and shackles the government. The Pelosi bill does just the opposite, it frees up the government and shackles the individual.

Ms. Neise and Ms. Applet talked about the devasting impact this bill will have on small businesses. The Congresswomen said they’re proud of the alternative approach offered by House republicans.

Clyde from Patriot Room also participated in the call and posted the full audio.

New RNC Radio Ad: “Not Good Enough”

The RNC today announced a new radio ad entitled “Not Good Enough”. The ad will run in response to President Obama’s visit to Madison, Wisconsin today. The radio ad will run Wednesday in the Madison media market. Listen to the radio ad here.

GOP Whip Eric Cantor Remarks on the Health Care Debate

Rep. Lynn Jenkins stands with Republican Whip Eric Cantor as he comments on the health care debate.

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) Delivers Weekly Republican Address

GOP Leader: Only Republicans have offered solutions to lower health care costs and make it easier to obtain quality, affordable coverage without imposing a massive burden on the American people.

Washington, Oct 30 - Delivering the weekly Republican address, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) outlined Republicans plan to make health care more accessible and affordable for American families at a price our nation can afford. The address highlights the differences between Republicans smart, fiscally responsible reforms and Speaker Nancy Pelosis (D-CA) 1,990-page government takeover of health care. More on Republicans common-sense health care solutions is available at http://healthcare.gop.gov. Audio of the address is available here; video of the address will be available here once the embargo is lifted.

Im House Republican Leader John Boehner. At the beginning of this year, I told President Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi that Republicans would be ready to work with them whenever possible to address the nations biggest challenges. I also said that where there are differences, it was our obligation as a party to explain to the American people how we would do things better. And on the stimulus, the budget, the energy bill, and health care, we have done exactly that.

As a matter of fact, only Republicans have offered solutions to lower health care costs and make it easier to obtain quality, affordable coverage without imposing a massive burden on the American people.

We first released our health care plan in June, and over the last six months, we have introduced at least eight bills that, taken together, would implement this blueprint. You can go right now to healthcare.gop.gov and get all the details, but for now, I just want to share with you four ideas Republicans have proposed:

· Number one: let families and businesses buy health insurance across state lines;

· Number two: allow individuals, small businesses, and trade associations to pool together and acquire health insurance at lower prices, the same way large corporations and labor unions do today;

· Number three: give states the tools to create their own innovative reforms that lower health care costs; and

· Number four: end junk lawsuits that contribute to higher health care costs by increasing the number of tests and procedures that physicians sometimes order not because they think it's good medicine, but because they are afraid of being sued.

These are four smart, fiscally-responsible reforms that we can implement today to lower costs and expand access at a price our nation can afford. Again, you can learn more about these and all the health care initiatives Republicans have supported by visiting healthcare.gop.gov.

The best way to get a sense of what Speaker Pelosis takeover of health care looks like is to actually look at it. Just shy of 2,000 pages, it runs more than 620 pages longer than the government-run plan Hillary Clinton proposed in 1993.

This 1,990 pages of bureaucracy will centralize health care decision making in Washington, DC. Itll require thousands of new federal employees. Itll put unelected boards, bureaus, and commissions in charge of who gets access to what drug and what potentially life-saving treatment.

And it wont come cheap. Speaker Pelosis health care bill will raise the cost of Americans health insurance premiums; it will kill jobs with tax hikes and new mandates; and it will cut seniors Medicare benefits.

We now have a choice: we can come together to implement smart, fiscally responsible reforms to improve Americans health care or we can recklessly pursue this government takeover that creates far more problems than it solves.

Its clear where the American people stand on this issue. Theyre frustrated and fed up. The stimulus bill isnt working. Unemployment is rising. The debt to be paid by our kids and grandkids is exploding. And now, Speaker Pelosis 1,990-page government takeover of health care.

Enough is enough. Breaking the bank and taking away the freedoms Americans cherish is not the answer to the challenges we face.

This coming week, Republicans will continue to stand on principle, defend freedom, and fight for our better solutions to make health care more affordable and accessible for American families.

Thanks for listening.

Senator Roberts has Tough Words for Administration Ag Leadership

10/29/2009
from NAFB News Service

Listen to the interivew here or read the transcript below.

New Senate Ag Committee Chair Blanche Lincoln says she intends to tackle her concerns with the climate change legislation proposed by Senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry through her committee, and Kansas GOP Senator Pat Roberts says he and other Ag Republicans are anxious to work with her. “She’s going to be a dandy,” Roberts said. “She does represent production agriculture. She’s from Arkansas. She’s a very fine lady. We have talked and there are quite a few on the committee that are very happy with Blanche and that we will have hearings. We’ll ask the tough questions and we will get that out to farm country to alleviate some of the fear that people have.”

Roberts says the farm economy is in pretty good shape overall even though it’s taking longer than it should for USDA to complete the implementation of key Farm Bill safety net provisions. “Somebody down there at the USDA has to take charge. When you implement a new program it always takes longer than expected. You pass a farm bill and then you turn it over to USDA and they have to come up with all the regs, and they drown all the FSA offices with a lot of paperwork. And then the poor farmer-rancher has to walk in there and put up with it. But this farm bill was passed sixteen months ago and we’re still waiting on final rules to major programs like the Sure disaster program, and the ACRE program is also slow-walked, which led to a lot of confusion in farm country.”

Roberts also questioned the Obama Administration’s commitment to commercial agriculture. “I think the saying is know your farmer, know your food, and then they highlight all of the farmer markets. Now that’s fine. Tom Vilsack, who is now our secretary, has really been on the tour to do that. Well, something has to be said about production agriculture to produce enough food for this country and a troubled, hungry world. But somehow production agriculture is now a pejorative, and you don’t hear many people writing about it, and if they do it’s very, very critical. I think that’s a very dangerous road to take.”

The Kansas senator added, “One other thing, I think Tom ought to think about being a czar on behalf of the stimulus bill and the democrat health care proposal, because he’s running all over the country and that’s what he’s talking about. Maybe we can get him an assistant secretary for production agriculture.”

Roberts says it’ll be up to members of the Senate and House Ag committees to "wave the flag" for farmers and ranchers when Congress writes the 2013 Farm Bill.