This Time People Won’t Ignore the #ACA Trainwreck

 Barack Obama, Health Care Reform  Comments Off on This Time People Won’t Ignore the #ACA Trainwreck
Mar 202014
 

Mitt Romney was right. Www.parkfamilyinsurance.com – (hint, hint, my day job) was right. IN 17 years of doing insurance, Government interference has been the number one cause of instability.

And, it continues:

Earlier This Month, The Obama Administration Finalized Rules Pushing The ObamaCare 2015 Enrollment Period Past This Year’s Midterms. “The new rules also formalize a delay in next year’s open-enrollment window and extend that window by a month. Enrollment will begin Nov. 15 and run through Feb. 15.” (Sam Baker, “Another ObamaCare Delay,” National Journal, 3/5/14)

  • The Obama Administration Has Sought To Keep The Cost Of Premiums From The Public Until After The Election.“The delays push the beginning of the enrollment window—when people will get a look at their premiums—past the November midterms, and the extended window gives the administration more time to try to bring in more people.” (Sam Baker, “Another ObamaCare Delay,” National Journal, 3/5/14)

According To Health Industry Experts, The Affordable Care Act Is Shaping Up To Be The Unaffordable Care Act

The Hill’s Headline: “O-Care Premiums About To Skyrocket.”(Elise Viebeck, “O-Care Premiums About To Skyrocket,” The Hill’s Health Watch, 3/19/14)

Health Industry Officials Expect “ObamaCare-Related Premiums” To Double Across The Country Before The 2015 Enrollment Period. “Health industry officials say ObamaCare-related premiums will double in some parts of the country, countering claims recently made by the administration. The expected rate hikes will be announced in the coming months amid an intense election year, when control of the Senate is up for grabs. The sticker shock would likely bolster the GOP’s prospects in November and hamper ObamaCare insurance enrollment efforts in 2015.” (Elise Viebeck, “O-Care Premiums About To Skyrocket,” The Hill’s Health Watch, 3/19/14)

According To An Insurance Official, ObamaCare “Is Going To Lead To Higher Costs.” “‘It’s pretty shortsighted because I think everybody knows that the way the exchange has rolled out … is going to lead to higher costs,’ said one senior insurance executive who requested anonymity.”(Elise Viebeck, “O-Care Premiums About To Skyrocket,” The Hill’s Health Watch, 3/19/14)

  • The Official Expects Rates At His Company To Triple On The ObamaCare Exchange. “The insurance official, who hails from a populous swing state, said his company expects to triple its rates next year on the ObamaCare exchange.” (Elise Viebeck, “O-Care Premiums About To Skyrocket,” The Hill’s Health Watch, 3/19/14)

Bill Hoagland, Sr. Vice President At The Bipartisan Policy Center: “These [Premium] Increases Will Be Significant.” “‘My gut tells me that, for some people, these increases will be significant,’ said Bill Hoagland, a former executive at Cigna and current senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center.” (Elise Viebeck, “O-Care Premiums About To Skyrocket,” The Hill’s Health Watch, 3/19/14)

  • In Iowa, “Rates Are Expected To Rise 100 Percent” On The ObamaCare Exchange While Employer Sponsored Coverage Rates Are Set To Double. “In Iowa, which hosts the first presidential caucus in the nation and has a competitive Senate race this year, rates are expected to rise 100 percent on the exchange and by double digits on the larger, employer-based market, according to a recent article in the Business Record.”(Elise Viebeck, “O-Care Premiums About To Skyrocket,” The Hill’s Health Watch, 3/19/14)

Instead Of Helping, Obama’s ObamaCare Delays Will Trigger The Spikes In Costs. “But insurance officials are quick to emphasize that any spikes would be a consequence of delays and changes in ObamaCare’s rollout.”(Elise Viebeck, “O-Care Premiums About To Skyrocket,” The Hill’s Health Watch, 3/19/14)

 

From the NorCal Tea Party: Art Moore has thin skin and is a Liberal Plant.

 Art Moore, CA-04 Race, Tom McClintock  2 Responses »
Mar 112014
 

One of the major sources of the false and yet to be answered rumors about the origin of Art Moore’s campaign for congress was the NorCal Tea Party.

None of them called me. I received several second-hand inquiries that members of the NorCal Tea Party were communicating as fact that I recruited Art Moore. These claims were in addition to the bald-faced lies about the CRA convention.

I’ve only received a call from one Tea Party leader in the area. I told that person the exact story.

The email they sent last night shows what may be their lack of knowledge of the top-two primary process. There are two reps and a DTS on the ballot. Two make it to November. Tom McClintock has way too much name ID and positive name ID at that for him to miss the runoff. Trying to “Primary” McClintock would have only been possible with a Dem on the ballot and then only with millions of dollars spent against him.

I have never met Ginni Rapini in person – yet for years, she and members of her group have been slandering myself and others in the CRA, repeating unvetted rumors and making character assessments that are untrue. These are the people that Steve Frank are replying upon in his quest to take over the California Republican Party.

The email she sent about Art Moore Follows:

Dear Patriot:

Art Moore is the guy who just filed to primary Tom McClintock.  His consultant harbors a personal grudge against McClintock, and now Tom is going to have to spend a lot of money to defend his seat, when he should be raising money for other conservatives instead.  This is really bad.  We need to apply some heat to this guy’s personal Facebook page:

Facebook Link

People should be polite and respectful, but indignant and outraged at the same time.  This guy grew up here, but has lived out of state for 18 years.  He moved here to primary Tom.  Why would he primary one of the most conservative Republicans in Congress, and a local hero (especially a tea party hero)?  Because he’s a “better” conservative?  Highly unlikely.

We’ve heard he has thin skin, and is very volatile.  I would suggest an incessant campaign on his FB page indicated above.

Sincerely,
Ginny Rapini

NorCal Tea Party Coordinator

Similar to the assault by Tea Party leaders against the CRA for standing up and asserting our right to non-endorse, it appears that similar politics of personal destruction are being advocated by the NorCal tea party against Art Moore.

Neither help Tom McClintock at all.

Where is McClintock on all of this? The McClintock I know would not approve of any of this sort of behavior. 

#CA07: Fraud Doctor Update: When Feeling Vulnerable, Swing Wide Left

 Ami Bera, CA-07 Race  Comments Off on #CA07: Fraud Doctor Update: When Feeling Vulnerable, Swing Wide Left
Mar 092014
 

Karen Bass. Yup, she is coming out to tell women that women’s rights are all about abortion. I take note that the far left never talk about rape, abuse, mutilation in the middle east, just abortion. Then, they hammer the issue while Republicans either go Todd Akin or they run and hide like cowards.

 

Today is International Women’s Day – a time to make vital progress on women’s rights around the world.

In honor of this day, I co-hosted a congressional briefing with my colleague Congresswoman Karen Bass and Planned Parenthood earlier this week on the importance of international family planning – a key aspect of women’s equality.

As a Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee I’m proud to have worked with Rep. Bass to shine a light on issues of concern to women around the world including maternal health, violence against women, and gender discrimination.

Though we have come a long way in this struggle in the U.S., we’re not finished yet. Right here at home, women are still paid less than men for doing the same work, reproductive rights are still being challenged and attacked far too often, and many women lack access to basic health care.

(Bera supported Obamacare and even helped shut the government down over it. Now that people are losing insurance by the millions, he is trying to make people believe he opposes it now.) 

As a son, husband, and father of a daughter, I have spent my life surrounded by strong women. Fighting for women and families is a deeply personal issue for me.

When women are treated fairly in the workplace and are paid equally for equal work, families and our economy are better off. 

That’s why I’m supporting the When Women Succeed, America Succeeds economic agenda in Congress. This agenda is designed to help ensure women and families everywhere are given a fair shake.

A key piece of this agenda is the Paycheck Fairness Act – a bill that strengthens protections for working women by providing incentives for equal pay for equal work and banning retaliation against workers who expose discriminatory pay gaps. (this bill is a lawyer’s dream – it set’s arbitrary and nebulous standards and will only drive up the cost of doing business)

The When Women Succeed, America Succeeds economic agenda is crucial to helping women and families everywhere achieve economic security and peace of mind.

Listening to you is my most important job, and I hope to see you next Saturday.


The Fraud Doctor is getting desperate – he is pushing Abortion on Demand to solidify his base and attempting to perpetrate the war on women lie. If anyone has contributed, it is the fraud doctor with his job-killing votes that have left millions of women unemployed and his support of obamacare that has left millions uninsured. But, in his mind, pimp abortion and everything will be ok.

Doug Ose? He is as pro-choice as Ami Bera is!

AD-03 Update: Inexplicable Indifference by Ryan Schohr

 AD-03 Race, James Gallagher, Ryan Schohr  1 Response »
Mar 062014
 

I am re-printing an article from the Sacramento Bee in its’ entirety. I have emboldened some of the key lines for emphasis.

Republican James Gallagher has scored two key endorsements that could put him ahead in the open race for California’s 3rd Assembly District.

The sprawling district north of Sacramento is solidly Republican, and with incumbent Dan Logue, R-Marysville, running for Congress, the race appears to be between Gallagher, a Sutter County supervisor from a longstanding farming family, and Ryan Schohr, another Republican with roots in the region’s agricultural community.

The conservative California Republican Assembly backed Gallagher at its convention this past weekend, citing his “core conservative principles.”

He also received an endorsement last week from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. The powerful anti-tax group seldom gets involved in intra-party primary races.

“I am excited to receive the endorsement of such a respected taxpayer organization,” Gallagher said in a statement. “I’m humbled that they have recognized my work on the Board of Supervisors and my commitment to protect taxpayers from government waste and abuse.”

Schohr, a farmer who serves on the Butte County Water Commission, said he is “not a politician or a bureaucrat,” so he has not been seeking out those statewide endorsements.

“I’ve got the support of hundreds of families and farmers and business owners in the district,” he said. “I’ve got a record of fighting taxes and wasteful spending and harmful regulations… I’m happy to work with anybody who has those same conservative ideals.”

Gallagher and Schohr also face Democrat Jim Reed in the June primary.

—-

There is a rule in politics. Every bit of support you can get is good. The sorry attempt at spin by Schohr in this article is people’s exhibit A that Schohr is not ready for prime-time.

Let’s hope the CRA endorsement of Gallagher has the same effect on AD-03 as the threat of a CRA endorsement did to Mark Wyland when he simply dropped out of the race against Diane Harkey.

I am still SMH at this one.

Personal Opinion: #CRA2014, fulfillment of a vision.

 California Republican Assembly  Comments Off on Personal Opinion: #CRA2014, fulfillment of a vision.
Mar 052014
 

If you’re a political insider, you’ve probably heard about the CRA 2014 Convention. The energy level, buzz, excitement and the attendance were unseen in the 17 years I have been a CRA member.

Some told me that they have not seen a CRA Convention like this since the days of John Courtney. (President 1991-1992)

The picture is of me Emceeing the Saturday evening dinner. In that dinner, I got to introduce Igor Birman whose speech received a standing ovation. I also got to introduce Tim Donnelly who ultimately got the CRA endorsement with a unanimous vote on Sunday.

Beyond Tim Donnelly, we had future leaders of the CaGOP like Nathan Miller, CYRF President, Assembly-Member Melissa Melendez, CRA-Endorsed candidates like Phillip Chen, Paul Tanaka and soon-to-be-CRA-endorsed Young Kim.

It was amazing, really to see an old CRA Stalwart like Mike Morrell almost look out of place with the youth and minority movement in the CA GOP.

When you add in Media Personalities like Ann-Marie Murrell, Tea Party legend Sharron Angle and Rafael Cruz, the father of Ted Cruz to the mix you had a diversified mix of speakers and people to relate to all attenders.

This year was the first time we consolidated local endorsing conventions with the state convention as well. Some of the newly gerrymandered districts almost necessitated doing it this way as in some cases units with jurisdiction are 200 miles apart.

6 years ago, I went to a local CRA Convention with 7 units having jurisdiction. 4 of the 7 were populated almost exclusively with staff as delegates. 2 more had staff amongst their delegations. I made a decision then and there that the era of consultant manipulation and endorsement fraud was going to end or I would leave politics altogether.

The effort to purge the fraud and the paper units from the CRA had its’ genesis then. A lot of people have different stories about how it went down – but needless to say, almost all of the fake units are gone now. The epic fight of 2011 and the lesser internal officer elections of 2013 are a distant memory.

When John W. Briscoe made history becoming the first challenger to unseat a sitting CRA President since the 1970’s, it was done with a simple message – “Expect More”.

The CRA has escaped the morass.

CRA membership is up 20%. New Units are coming back together. Existing moribund units have been revitalized with new members. In fact, the SLO CRA went from 2 members to 36 members, the Ventura RA from 3 to over 40 and the old, dead CNRA came back to life as the N San Fernando Valley RA. We have a unit in Pasadena again. We have a new unit in Northern SD County. Kern River Valley and Shasta RA are back, doubling their membership.

You saw that this weekend at the convention with attendance of real CRA members not seen in a generation. The days of tons of college kids showing up as delegates from bogus units are gone now.

Some have been critical of some of the local CRA endorsements. The CRA is a bottom-up organization where the local units decide. The local units made their own call. Political Consultants were relegated to having to do it the old fashioned way – buy advertising and/or sponsorships, sending operatives to work the delegates and candidates showed up in droves.

This is a far cry from that local endorsing convention where staff outnumbered real CRA members. This is a far cry from the 2010 or 2011 conventions where the attack of staff nearly usurped the will of real CRA members.

The personal vision I had set out in 2008 is now a reality. I’d like to thank all those that bought in and took ownership of it as well. It has come at a high price, but the “payoff” is a healthy CRA on the mend and controlled by no one other than the CRA members themselves.

I ran for CRA VP and won. The time was right – I fought wars as the CRA Sgt. I will build CRA and make friends as a CRA VP. For this, I will be accountable.