Medicaid expansion: Local hospital says yes; Landes, Cline, Bell and tea party say no

Governor Terry McAuliffe will be visiting the Shenandoah Valley this afternoon, making a stop at Augusta Health's Heart and Vascular Center in Fishersville at 2:00 in his effort to close the gap in medicaid coverage.

Augusta Health has been an advocate for increasing coverage. CEO and president Mary Mannix wrote, "The gap in health insurance coverage created by the Affordable Care Act has left thousands of people in our community without access to affordable coverage. ... This coverage gap is not only a source of hardship for our uninsured patients; it also puts an enormous financial strain on our hospital."

Today's visit will be countered by protesters from Americans for Prosperity and local tea party groups who plan to gather in the hospital parking lot with signs against the proposed expansion. Local state delegates Steve Landes, Ben Cline, and Dickie Bell have scheduled a 3:00 news conference at a private business a mile from the hospital's campus to protest expansion and its affect on small businesses.

It should make for an interesting Saturday afternoon in Augusta County.

Tuesday: Americans for Prosperity in Harrisonburg

Running on Empty Tour in
Harrisonburg Tomorrow!
Americans for Prosperity Foundation is stopping in Harrisonburg on our Running On Empty Tour to give you a chance to send President Obama your gas bill and tell him to stop this runaway increase in gas prices.

Click Here to Register!

Since President Obama took office, gas prices have nearly doubled. The administration refuses to develop American energy sources…American energy sources that could help gas prices, electricity prices, and food prices come down.

What: AFP Foundation's Running On Empty Tour
Where: Downtown Harrisonburg, 53 Court Square, on the lawn
When: Tuesday June 14, 12 PM
Why: To learn what executive actions the Administration can take to bring down fuel costs and bring stability to the market and send them your gas bill!

The event will include local and national speakers, food, and a chance to send President Obama your gas bill! We need you to help send the message that it is critical America develop energy sources that will help gas prices, electricity prices, and food prices come down.

Americans are running on empty and the administration needs to hear how regulations and restriction to domestic resources are affecting working families who rely on affordable energy to commute to work, go to school activities, and shop for family groceries.

Click here to tell President Obama his regulations have you running on empty and register for your stop of the Running on Empty Tour!

Sincerely,

Trixie Averill
Virginia Director
Americans for Prosperity Foundation

P.S. Even if you can't join us at the event, make sure you click here to tell President Obama his regulations have you running on empty.

2010 Americans for Prosperity Summit & Glenn Beck

Mark your calendars ... contact Trixie Averill for more info....

2010 AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY SUMMIT
August 27-28, 2010
Washington, DC

We will be attending Glenn Beck's RESTORING HONOR Rally
in conjunction with the summit.

YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS YEAR!!!
Details will follow as they are available.

Activism is more than just talk!!!

Contact Trixie Averill for more
information and to reserve a seat on the free bus.

Thousands and thousands protest ObamaCare

Tim Phillips with Americans for Prosperity was in Washington for the Code Red rally on Tuesday. This is Tim's report....

Yesterday, we asked Americans in targeted congressional districts to turn out for events to let these undecided members of Congress know just how strongly the folks back home oppose this health care takeover.

Thousands upon thousands of Americans took time away from work and family - often right in the middle of the day - to drive to the district offices of their representatives.

In Aliquippa, PA, local leader McKay Sailor had this to say in an email to me: "The rally today was a smashing success! We had upwards of 700 people show up to send the message of ‘NO' to Cong. Altmire."

In North Carolina, hundreds more turned out at noon for a rally at the office of Congressman Etheridge led by AFP's Dallas Woodhouse (click for pictures and click for video).

In Cincinnati, 450 more turned out for a tea party to send a message to Rep. Steve Driehaus (pictures).

500 fired-up activists led by AFP-NJ State Director Steve Lonegan swamped the office of key swing vote Congressman John Adler (pictures).

In Tuscon, AZ, the sound of blaring horns sent a resounding "Honk Against the Health Care Takeover" to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Click to see it for yourself: video 1, and video 2.

I was on the Capitol grounds in Washington, D.C. for a rally hosted by our good friends at the Tea Party Express. FOX News, CNN, CBS Evening News and many others covered the event.

Click here for our Fox News coverage.

An elderly couple from near Indianapolis grabbed my arm and the lady told me, "Tim, we drove 7 hours, missed our granddaughter's dance recital because we want Congress to know we're still in the fight."

The Left continues assuring the media and each other that they have the votes in the House. Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs even declared last weekend that health care "will be the law of the land" by this Sunday. Speaker Pelosi says "we just have to pass it to find out what's in it."

If that's true and if there is so much support for the Senate bill, then it's odd that Speaker Pelosi is scrambling to devise a parliamentary trick that will allow House Democrats to pass health care without having to vote on the actual Senate bill!

It's being called "The Slaughter Scheme": Speaker Pelosi has publicly said no one wants to vote for the Senate bill. So instead she is going to use a House rule that will allow representatives to vote on the reconciliation "fixes" and then "deem" that vote to also cover passage of the Senate bill. This is another procedural trick to shield reluctant House Democrats from their constituents. It will not work; we will make sure everyone knows that a vote for that rule is a vote to pass the Senate bill.

Predicting what the House of Representatives will do is impossible.

But know this: they are experiencing intense, sustained grassroots pressure from back home. Their phone lines are swamped. Their email boxes are filled. Their district offices are seeing foot traffic like never before! Our television and radio ads continue to play in targeted districts. Internet banner ads with their names displayed prominently are everywhere.

They've got the president still traipsing around the nation holding canned "town hall" meetings with carefully selected audiences. And, members of Congress are hiding out carefully avoiding public events as well. They know their constituents oppose this legislation.

We're going to keep up the fight straight through the vote ... whenever they finally hold it.

Stop Obama takeover of Internet

From Americans for Prosperity...

A couple of months ago I told you about the FCC's regulatory power grab, boosted by the radical left, to gain control of the Internet and potentially our whole communications system. With Glenn Beck's help, we exposed the White House Czar charged with technology policy, Susan Crawford, and she was forced to resign. Unfortunately, the left's effort to take over the Internet continues. The Federal Communications Commission is moving ahead with proposed "Open Internet" rules, which would give federal regulators vast new powers, and ultimately lead to government control of the Internet.

The stakes are huge, and will help determine outcomes on all the other issues we care about. That's because as long as the Internet is free, we can use it to communicate, educate, and organize. This is what's at stake as the FCC moves forward with its ridiculously misnamed "Open Internet" rulemaking.

Please click here to file official FCC comments opposing a Washington takeover of the Internet. Take action today - the deadline is fast approaching.

"Open Internet" is the left's latest marketing language for what they used to call "net neutrality." It is an outgrowth of the larger so-called media reform project of radical left-wing activists like Robert McChesney, the Free Press founder who explained his goal to SocialistProject.ca: "What we want to have in the U.S. and in every society is an Internet that is not private property, but a public utility."

"Open Internet" or "net neutrality" sounds simple - force phone and cable companies to treat every bit of information the same way - until you realize that modern networks are incredibly complex, with millions of lines of code in every router. Making sure services like VoIP, video conferencing, and telemedicine (not to mention the next great thing that hasn't been invented yet) get priority may be necessary to make the Internet work, but the government is considering regulations that will make it illegal to prioritize traffic.

These networks cost billions of dollars to build and maintain, and if there is uncertainty about getting a good return on that investment, private investment will dry up. And then government will step in, spending billions of our tax dollars on a government-owned and controlled Internet.
Although Susan Crawford is gone, the White House Internet power grab goes much higher, to President Obama himself. He said on the campaign trail: "I will take a backseat to no one in my commitment to Net Neutrality."

Please click here to file official FCC comments opposing a Washington takeover of the Internet.
Thanks for all you do.

Phil Kerpen
Vice President and Director of Policy, Americans for Prosperity
Chairman, Internet Freedom Coalition

Dead-of-night vote passes ... Democrats vote against majority of Americans

Senate Played Pork Politics at Its Worst
From Phil Kerpen, Director of Policy
Americans for Prosperity

In the dead of night at 1:17 AM the Senate invoked cloture on the "manager's amendment" to the Reid health care takeover bill. This was the first key vote to end debate in the Senate. and it passed on party lines, 60-40, with every Democrat voting to end debate and move the amendment forward.

The amendment was an example of corrupt, pay-for-play politics at its worst. The key provisions included a buy-off for Nebraska to secure Sen. Ben Nelson's vote. Federal taxpayers will be forced to pick up the tab for 100% of the cost of the bill's Medicaid expansion in Nebraska--forever. Vermont got $250 million in extra federal Medicaid funding to prevent Bernie Sanders from bolting from the left.

A mystery $100 million earmark for a hospital "at a public research university in the United States that contains a State’s sole public academic medical and dental school" was also included. Nobody claimed credit for it until just an hour ago, when Sen. Chris Dodd admitted to putting it in the bill for the University of Connecticut. Dodd is in a tough re-election fight.

A previous deal had already added $300 million in extra Medicaid funding for Louisiana to secure Sen. Mary Landrieu's vote.

This bill has become old-fashioned pork-barreling at its worst, with these outrageous earmarks greasing the wheels for passing an outrageous Washington takeover of our health care that will raise taxes hundreds of billions of dollars and put Washington politicians and bureacrats in position to second-guess our doctors and punish them for not following federal recommendations.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the new bill costs $871B, raises federal revenue $498B, cuts Medicare $438B, and at the end of ten years still leaves 23 million uninsured. The bill assumes huge cuts in doctor reimbursement rates that Congress will never accept, balances 10 years of revenues against just 6 years of spending, and uses what Democratic Budget Chairman Kent Conrad called a "Ponzi scheme" known as the CLASS Act to conceal the real costs. This budget-busting bill will really cost trillions and drive our already out-of-control national debt much higher.

This fight is not over. There will be two more 60-vote cloture votes this week, and if we can shame even one Democrat into opposing this pork-packed monstrosity we can stop it. Those votes are Tuesday at 7AM and Wednesday at 1PM.

If the Senate does pass the bill, it will go back to the House where an earlier version passed by just 5 votes. If enough taxpayers in the un-favored states object strongly enough to the corrupt deals bestowed at their expense on Nebraska, Louisiana, and Vermont maybe we can convince a few more House Democrats to vote no and beat this thing.

Keep fighting.

Blogging: 101 at RightOnline weekend blogging conference

From Tim Phillips, President of Americans for Prosperity....

I'm writing to you from our Americans for Prosperity Foundation's RightOnline conference conference in Pittsburgh, where almost 600 free-market activists are training to win the battle for our freedoms online.

New York Times bestselling author Michelle Malkin just spoke to the crowd.Since yesterday, these intrepid activists have been learning in panel discussions like "blogging 101" and "social networking communications".

Yesterday, hundreds upon hundreds of activists gathered for our AFP rally to send Sen. Arlen Specter a simple message -- vote NO on the health care takeover and NO on the job-killing cap-and-trade. We heard from an amazing 11-year-old Pennsylvania middle schooler named Quentin Cody who eloquently made the case for freedom and from Teri Adams who heads the Independence Hall Tea Party (Philadelphia).

And here's some encouraging news from the USA Today/Gallup poll published Thursday.In a survey of 1,000 adults, 34% of Americans say demonstrators at town hall style meetings (that's you and me) have made them MORE SYMPATHETIC to the protesters' views, and only 21% said the protests made them less sympathetic.

Even more importantly, Independents by a 2 to 1 margin (35% to 16%) say they are MORE SYMPATHETIC to the protesters' (our) views.These Independents are the Holy Grail of politics, and they're agreeing with us that the health care takeover is a disaster for our families and our nation.

In the face of the Obama Administration, Pelosi, Reid and their liberal friends vilifying us as "un-American," "evil-mongers," "astroturf," "mobs" and worse -- the American people are taking our side against these political elites.

If you ever wondered, "Can I make a difference by getting involved?" here is your answer. Hundreds of thousands of Americans just like you and me are getting involved.They're attending rallies, calling and emailing their elected officials, talking to friends and family.And, it's working.It's making a difference.

You're making a difference.

But, we face enormous challenges.Right across town, the left-wing NetRoots Nation is meeting to plot how they are going to turn things around for their side.They heard from Bill Clinton Thursday who made an aggressive pitch for government-run health care.Sen. Arlen Specter spoke to the liberal crowd and bragged that he would help them pass Card Check and other "Democrat priorities" by opposing filibusters.

We've still got a long way to go.To win, we must keep up the pressure. Keep winning over new supporters. Keep turning out at rallies and events.

Americans for Prosperity's Patients First 'Hands Off My Health Care' bus continues -- one's in Montana right now and the other heads to Indiana first thing Monday. Our anti-cap-and-trade "Cost of Hot Air" tour gets back on the road this Tuesday hitting Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia. Please come to one of these great events.

And, make plans now to come to Washington, D.C. for a national "Town Hall" meeting on October 2nd, as well as Americans for Prosperity Foundation's 3rd Defending the American Dream Summit right at the final decisive moments in the health care and cap-and-trade battles and I want you there!

Americans for Prosperity: HANDS OFF MY HEALTH CARE

~ Sign the "Hands Off My Health Care" Petition ~

HANDS OFF MY HEALTH CARE ... the Americans For Prosperity bus has been traveling the country (including Virginia) collecting signatures on petitions telling Washington, D.C., that Americans do not want the monstrosity socialized health care bill.

Today Rush Limbaugh shared the website address during his conservative radio talk show to get the word out to his millions of listeners.

September 12 ... National Tea Party goes to Washington, D.C. Join us as we board buses to be counted and stand up against nationalized socialized health care. Cost is $35 per person with pickup points along I-81 in the Shenandoah Valley ... buses will be heading to D.C. from across the nation.

Hop on board the Freedom Express! Email to reserve a seat.

America, it's time to speak up!

AFP fights universal health care

Americans for Prosperity president Tim Phillips is working to fight universal health care and save our hard-earned tax dollars. Read all about it over at SixtyFour81.com.

AFP at the RPV Convention 2009 ... breakfast on Saturday

Americans for Prosperity had a "Patients United Now" breakfast Saturday morning, May 30, before the start of the second day of the RPV Convention. Nearly 400 citizen activists turned out to hear Kay Coles James, Del. Brenda Pogge, and others as they discussed the dangers of socialized medicine.

Thanks to Virginia AFP state director Ben Marchi for passing along this You Tube video of breakfast.

Americans for Prosperity on Fox & Friends Thursday a.m.

Tim Phillips, President of Americans for Prosperity, will appear on Fox & Friends Thursday morning at 7:20 a.m. to debate the card check issues. Tune in to hear him defend an employee's right to privacy.

Tomorrow ... 7:20 a.m. on Fox & Friends.

Live now: AFP tele-town hall conference

Going on live now ... over 10,000 Americans across the nation joined Americans For Prosperity president Tim Phillips, Virginia Congressional Whip Eric Cantor (R-7th Cognressional District), and the Wall Street Journal's Steve Moore for a tele-town hall that answered questions about the stimulus bill and other issues of interest to voters. They provided up-to-the-minute intelligence and details on the eve of Congress’s final vote on the Pelosi/Reid/Obama trillion dollar "Stimulus" boondoggle.

Questions asked from throughout the country were answered by the three gentlemen ... everything from why there is no transparency of the stimulus bill, how small business owners will survive, to how bad the economy will get with the passage of this bill, to thanking the Republicans for standing up against the bill, and much more.

One caller said we've lost the battle but not the war, and wanted to know how to get the word out through the grassroots. The answer: call-in radio shows, letters to the editor, talk to 10 people a day about the importance of being engaged, sign the No Stimulus petition, call your representatives.

The House has set their vote for early afternoon tomorrow. The Senate vote appears to be set for late tomorrow afternoon or early evening. That gives us 24 hours to keep up the pressure. We must keep fighting back, and turning up the heat on our elected officials.

This fight has been taken to the center of the national stage, even when nobody thought it could make a difference. AFP's NoStimulus.com campaign is having a big impact, turning public opinion strongly against the Pelosi/Reid/Obama trillion-dollar debt and spending scheme.

Already, the NoStimulus.com petition drive has 418,343 signers and the number is climbing by the hour! That's right -- last Friday at a news conference with Senator DeMint to turn in the initial round of petitions the number was at 69,487 and one week later it's 418,343 petition signers!

Thank you for doing your part in this crucial battle.

AFP shines sunlight onto 2009 VA General Assembly

Americans for Prosperity – Virginia Applauds House Republicans’ Move To Record Subcommittee Votes ... with the Virginia legislative session a month away, House Republicans set a tone of transparency for the 2009 General Assembly session.

RICHMOND – The Virginia chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP-VA) today commended House Republicans for making transparent and accountable government a state priority by requiring recorded subcommittee votes, giving Virginians public access to individual delegate votes on crucial legislation in subcommittees.

"This is a victory for Virginia voters." said AFP – Virginia State Director Ben Marchi. "Accountable and transparent government is where good government begins, and it is encouraging that both Virginia voters and delegates are in agreement."

AFP-Virginia’s fight for recorded subcommittee votes included a petition supporting transparency in state government signed by Virginia activists, along with an influx of phone calls and letters voicing concern to legislators.

"Having recorded votes in subcommittees will allow Virginians to check and make sure we are doing the job they put us here to do," said Delegate Ben Cline (R-Lexington) who has authored transparency legislation to be introduced in the 45 day session beginning next month.

AFP-Virginia was also glad to hear that House Republicans made difficult but necessary cuts in their budget – saving Virginia taxpayers over $1 million-- and pledged to oppose any earmarks in the 2008-2010 biennial budgets.

Over the next few months, AFP will take its message of transparent, accountable, and limited government on the road, holding town hall meetings with legislators at the local, state, and federal levels.

"The 2009 session has not yet started and Virginia taxpaying citizens are already winning," said Marchi. "With the support of our over 13,000 members, I know the voices of Virginians will continue to be heard.”

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a nationwide organization of citizen leaders committed to advancing every individual's right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits. For more information, visit Americans For Prosperity.

Heading north on I-81 to Woodstock on a wintry day ...

Snow clouds hang dark over I-81 in the Shenandoah Valley.

... no, not Woodstock, NY ... but Woodstock, VA, located an hour north of Staunton in Shenandoah County.

Augusta County had on-and-off snow flurries all Monday and the sky was dark and wintry looking when Trixie Averill picked me up in the late afternoon ... just two wild and crazy girls heading to Woodstock to prepare for 75 people who had signed up for another fabulous Americans For Prosperity townhall meeting. The snow flurries continued as we headed north on the interstate with the sky growing darker and we could see snow squalls on the mountains to our east and west ... and then it hit!

Wheeee .... snow was coming down heavy and we enjoyed the big white flakes for as long as they lasted ... and then it was back to on-and-off flurries that continued throughout the evening. The mountains and western counties were expecting 5-7" of snow but Augusta County had only a dusting Tuesday morning. With daytime temps in the lower 30s, it certainly was a reminder that winter is not far away....

More photos from AFP townhall meeting in Shenandoah County

Photos by SWAC Girl

More photos from AFP townhall meeting in Shenandoah County

Sen. Mark Obenshain

Del. Todd Gilbert

Trixie Averill

Suzanne Curran passes out information.


Previous post: Obenshain, Gilbert at AFP townhall meeting in Shenandoah County

Photos by SWAC Girl

Obenshain, Gilbert at AFP townhall meeting in Shenandoah County

Sen. Mark Obenshain addresses AFP townhall meeting as Del. Todd Gilbert listens in the background.

Sen. Mark Obenshain listens as Trixie Averill answers a question.

Suzanne Curran from Shenandoah County.

It was standing room only at another highly successful Americans For Prosperity townhall meeting Monday night in Shenandoah County. Seventy-five interested citizens were engaged and asking questions and ready to join up with AFP's mission to control government waste and spending.

Guest speakers were Sen. Mark Obenshain and Del. Todd Gilbert who joined Shenandoah County activist Suzanne Curran along with AFP's Trixie Averill.

Informative as always, Mark and Todd did a great job answering questions as they readied everyone for the General Assembly session that begins in January. There were many positive comments afterwards as folks mingled and talked at the conclusion of the meeting.

It was another great event for AFP!

Photos by SWAC Girl

AFP to host WSJ's Steve Moore at free luncheon on Monday

Join Americans for Prosperity Foundation and Virginia Speaker of the House of Delegates, Bill Howell for a FREE brunch and special book event featuring one of the nation's leading free-market thinkers -- economist Steve Moore of The Wall Street Journal editorial board.

When:
Monday, October 27th, 10:00am (brunch will be provided)

Where:
Richmond Marriott, 500 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219

With the current financial crisis putting a shadow over our economy, is our free-market system able to turn around on it's own? Can we put our confidence in the government to clean up this mess? With all the talk in Washington, D.C. these days, it seems the politicians in our nation's capital think government has the answer. Steve Moore of The Wall Street Journal thinks differently.

Join us on Monday, October 27th in Richmond, when Americans for Prosperity Foundation hosts Steve Moore as he introduces his new book, The End of Prosperity: How Higher Taxes will Doom the Economy—If We Let it Happen.

Space is limited, so please register today. Speaker Bill Howell will discuss Virginia's budget crisis and why we don't need to raise taxes in uncertain economic times.

Don't miss this unique opportunity to hear one of the nation's preeminent free-market economists discuss why the Reagan Revolution played a critical role in reversing our economic prosperity, how it inspired a freedom movement throughout the world and what we need to do here at home to secure that freedom and prosperity for the next generation.

Amazon.com has this about The End of Prosperity:

"The rest of the world is following the American economic growth model of lower tax rates, more economic freedom, and sound money. Paradoxically, one country is moving away from these growth policies and putting its prosperity at risk -- America. . . . We risk losing the exceptional standard of living that has made us the envy of the rest of the world if the pro-growth policies of the last twenty-five years are reversed by a new president."

This is a critical time for our country.

Please join Americans for Prosperity Foundation and Steve Moore as we put light on solutions to the financial crisis.

Don't miss this important event. Register for FREE online today. Look forward to seeing you there!

Americans For Prosperity rocked D.C.!

From Tim Phillips, President of Americans For Prosperity ...

On October 10 & 11, we once again welcomed more than 1,400 of our best grassroots activists to Washington, D.C. for our second annual Americans for Prosperity Foundation Defending the American Dream Summit.

These top AFP citizen-activists to Washington, DC, stormed the capitol in a massive show of force which was seen by millions of Americans live on Fox News and CNN, received the best available grassroots and issues training, and heard from inspiring speakers like George Will and John Stossel.

As I've traveled back-and-forth across the country over the last month, I have seen firsthand the challenges our free market movement faces. Our opponents are convinced they stand on the cusp of moving our nation dramatically toward bigger government, higher taxes and more regulation. They are convinced they will move Card Check legislation, "cap and trade" legislation, tax increases and new government-run health care legislation. We face a genuinely challenging effort from now straight through next year and beyond.

But after spending a weekend with our core AFP activists from across the nation, I know our grassroots army is more energized than ever, and they are committed to fighting over the long haul for our freedoms.

Like you and me, they’re not going to stand idly by while opponents of free enterprise try to use the economic situation as an excuse to push for the biggest government expansion in decades – maybe ever.

Thank you for all you do for Americans for Prosperity Foundation. Together, we are making a difference.

Del. Ben Cline at AFP "Defending the American Dream"

Del. Ben Cline represents the southern end of Augusta County.

Photo by SWAC Girl

AFP's "Defending the American Dream" photos ... part 1

Virginia State Director Ben Marchi


Atty. Gen. Bob McDonnell and State Sen. Steve Martin

State Central Committee member Patsy Drain


Virginia delegation

Photos by SWAC Girl