Obamacare Re Dux

The following letter to the editor was submitted to The Daily World on July 9 in response to several letters on Obamacare.  It has yet to appear in print.  Ditto letters from Bruce Daniels on the topic:

Congratulations to Richard Kivi, et.al. for trotting out White House talking points on the alleged toys and trinkets in the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

MIA from the OR-chestrated list: 83% of doctors surveyed saying they may quit if Obamacare is fully implemented (Doctor Patient Medical Association Foundation, June 2012).  Or the 78 health care bills Republicans introduced in the 111th Congress, most of which Pelosi and Company refused to consider, including:

- H.R. 3400, the Empowering Patients First Act, which increases patients' control over health care decisions by offering more choices and the highest quality available.

- H.R. 4985, the Medicare Decisions Accountability Act of 2010, repealing the Independent Payment Advisory Board enacted under the Democrat health care package.  The IPAB gives unelected bureaucrats the authority to determine what benefits are covered and how much physicians are paid.

- H.R. 4982, the Close the Congressional Health Care Loophole Act, ensuring that all Legislative Branch employees enroll in the new healthcare exchanges, thus treating all Legislative Branch employees the same. 

- H.R. 4999, the Reclaiming Individual Liberty Act, eliminating Section 5000A of the PPACA and repealing the individual health insurance mandate.

- H.R. 5421, providing individuals with the same tax advantages that businesses have, allowing you to deduct 100% of all health care expenses from your taxes, including insurance.  Also offers high risk insurance pools to those with pre-existing conditions and expands choice and competition by allowing individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines.

Almost none of these or any other fiscally responsible, patient-centered solutions offered by Republicans were considered in committee or on the House floor by the-then Democrat majority before it passed  the PPACA.

Don't forget the legislatures of more than three-fourths of all the states, including Washington, that proposed legislation reaffirming their 10th amendment rights trampled by Obamacare.  Also the 26 state Attorneys General, including Washington, that filed suit challenging Congress' authority to force citizens to buy health insurance, arguing that the individual mandate isn't about health, it's about the unrestricted expansion of the federal government.

What's that again about toys and trinkets?

Grays Harbor Republican Party Passes Resolution on Obamacare, Endorses Local and State Candidates

          The Central Committee of the Grays Harbor Republican Party passed the following Resolution on the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, at its July 10 meeting.  The vote was unanimous:

Resolution on Obamacare

Whereas the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare will kill jobs, bankrupt the nation, drive up health insurance costs, and put unelected bureaucrats in charge of rationing care;

Whereas Obamacare represents one of the single largest middle-class tax hikes in American history;

Whereas the Grays Harbor Republicans believe the greatest healthcare system in the world is best preserved by minimizing government control;

Whereas the Grays Harbor Republicans believe that citizens should have the ability to choose an affordable healthcare plan to meet their individual needs;

Whereas the Grays Harbor Republicans believe that this is accomplished with competition, fewer mandates, tort reform, health savings accounts, and eliminating fraud;

Whereas the Grays Harbor Republicans believe that physicians, healthcare providers, and healthcare organizations must retain the right to practice in a manner they believe is ethical and to exercise freedom of conscience;

Now, be it therefore resolved, that the Grays Harbor Republican Party calls for the immediate repeal of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

***

The following candidates were officially endorsed at the same meeting:Dixie Kolditz - State Representative, 19th District; Rick Winsman - State Senate, 19th District; Kim Wyman - Secretary of State; James Watkins - State Auditor; Bill Finkbeiner - Lieutenant Governor; and Richard Sanders - WA State Supreme Court.

These candidates join previously endorsed candidates Jesse Young for Congress, 6th Congressinal District, Wes Cormier, County Commissioner, District 1, and Allan Shores, County Commissioner, District 2.

Your Very Own Sign

The following is a Letter to the Editor that was printed in the July 7, 2012 edition of The Daily World.

You Can Have Your Very Own Sign

The support in Grays Harbor County for Jesse Young is overwhelming.  We have put up signs at various places throughout the County and it has become obvious that people want to show their support for Jesse Young so badly that they are actually taking these signs for their own use.  In some cases they are even taking them from their neighbor’s yard.

Please do not worry, I have plenty of signs and you can have your very own.  All you need to do is go to Jesse Young’s website at jesseyoungforcongress.com, choose “Contact Jesse” and then leave your name, contact information, and address.  I will then contact you to make arrangements to get you your VERY OWN Jesse Young for Congress sign.

Once again, I would like to thank you all for your fervent support of Jesse Young and look forward to hearing from you.

Terry Moore

Grays Harbor County Chair

Jesse Young for Congress WA-6th (R)

Jesse Young on Wild Olympics Legislation

 JESSE YOUNG submitted the following Letter to the Editor to the Peninsula Daily News.

“Wild Olympics” is an important issue for the residents of Grays Harbor county.  With the introduction of “The Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic River Act of 2012” on June 21st, this proposal will now be considered by Congress.

Although some modification from the original proposal has been made, I remain firmly opposed to the plan.  I’m not alone – many local governments, community groups, and individual citizens have come out against it, contrary to what proponents say.

It's very clear that this bill's intent is to not correct a current problem, but to preempt future use options based on the assumption that future decisions will inherently be detrimental in nature. 

 Is it really the best environmental policy to lock up our land - on a false premise that our communities cannot be trusted - and then tell the rest of the world what to do with its land?  Certainly not.  If we are truly concerned about the environment then it is our duty to show the rest of the world how to do it.  As an American, I'd have it no other way. We've always led by example, and now is no time to stop.

 The Seattle Times categorized “Wild Olympics” this way:  “The primary effect of the legislation is to prevent future administrations from opening up ancient forests and wild rivers to new logging, road building, mining, drilling or dams.”  I ask why?  Can’t we honor our land while enjoying not only its beauty but its natural resources too?  With current technology and that of the future, surely there’s a way that we can do so.

 In short, “Wild Olympics” would designate over 126,000 acres of Olympic National Forest land as “wilderness” and create new “Wild and Scenic” rivers on the Olympic Peninsula.  While these designations sound innocent, they are very restrictive, and will cost our already depressed Peninsula economy good jobs in the timber industry.

 Without good forest management, which may include selective logging, how are we going to prevent forest fires that might spread to developed areas?  And, should a fire start, how are firefighters going to gain access without roads?  Without roads, hunters will have to haul their kills out on their backs.  Without roads, most of us will NOT have the opportunity to visit these beautiful areas.

 Finally, it is clear this bill will not be effective for our communities and economy.  The legislation as written does not include any estimate of the cost, and the Congressional Budget Office has not yet “scored” it.  But, decommissioning (or tearing up) existing roads will surely cost money – don’t we have more pressing needs for our federal tax dollars?  I remain firmly opposed.

Jesse Young

Candidate U.S. Congress, WA-06

Videos - we need them

It's time for Grays Harbor conservatives to go video viral. We need someone good at producing videos. Let's respond to the news with our own conservative perspective. The Daily World certainly is shirking its responsibility, and we have no real local TV station (some of us can't get cable).

We can generate numerous topics and scripts. Who's got the skill?