RESPONSE ACTION NETWORK 02/21/2014

ANOTHER GAPING HOLE IN OBAMACARE

One of the key selling points of Obamacare was that folks who had pre-existing conditions could get coverage and not have to worry about sky-high premiums. Seems that was a lie, too. Under the law's "closed drug formulary," people whose medication isn't on the government's list - say for treatment of lupus or multiple sclerosis -- will have to pay a lot more:

"Dr. Scott Gottlieb of the American Enterprise Institute explains, 'if the medicine that you need isn't on that list, it's not covered at all. You have to pay completely out of pocket to get that medicine, and the money you spend doesn't count against your deductible, and it doesn't count against your out of pocket limits, so you're basically on your own.'"



ERIC "HEAT SHIELD" HOLDER

Attorney General Eric Holder may have been a bit battered and bruised by the many scandals swirling around the Obama administration. But it seems Holder is now finding his second wind:

"'The most the attorney general has said is that he still has a lot he wants to accomplish on issues like criminal justice reform, voting rights and LGBT equality. He did not speak about his plans any further than that,' said Justice spokesman Brian Fallon."

So he's still got a lot to do. But Holder's real value isn't in fighting for any of these issues. It's this:

"'I doubt that the president would want him to leave because he has in many ways acted as a heat shield for the administration' said [Hans] von Spakovsky."

So Mr. Holder keeps the President from getting burned. Yeah . . . he'll be in office to the bitter end.


MORE IRS THUGGERY

One way Eric Holder is keeping the heat off the White House is by stonewalling a congressional investigation into the IRS' thuggish harassment of pro-liberty groups. The investigation has unearthed more evidence that top IRS officials knew exactly what they were doing to those groups. They even had a plan:

"Recently, Congress unearthed another IRS e-mail on which she was copied, talking about taking 'off-plan' a discussion about how to harass the 501(c)4 groups the IRS had targeted. Meanwhile, leaks from officials involved in the investigation claim the FBI has not found ­anything criminal.

That's an amazing finding, given the statement by the American Center for Law and Justice, which represents the IRS targets, that the FBI hadn't interviewed a single of the center's 41 ­clients."

The Justice Department says it doesn't want to do anything to help Congress because it will jeopardize the Department's own investigation. Which is just another way of saying the DOJ is trying to run out the clock, and hope all this unwanted attention fades away.


A DEMOCRATIC TALKING POINT DIES IN CHATTANOOGA

What happens when a company gift wraps an election for a union and workers still vote not to join? Workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga give the nation a lesson, voting 712-626 against an attempt from the United Auto Workers to unionize the facility. A Washington Post writer lambasted southern Republican politicians for opposing the UAW, calling them hypocrites for embracing globalization, but fighting against the spread of global workers' rights. That's rich coming from the Post, which, back in the 1970s engaged in some old-fashioned union-busting, breaking its printers union and later moving its print operation out of Washington, DC and into Virginia . . . a right-to-work state.


"VOTE NO, HOPE YES"

The Senate took its lumps for having very quietly passed an increase in the nation's debt limit last week. GOP Senators generally dislike having to vote for a hike in the debt limit - though they also hope it will pass, so the nation's financial markets don't panic. This "Vote No, Hope Yes" strategy has been used by both parties in the past. But Sen. Ted Cruz decided he wanted a vote. So he forced Republicans to come clean on the game they were playing:

"[Cruz] would object to a unanimous consent request. If the Democrats want an up-or-down vote on the debt limit, make them first find 60 votes to invoke cloture.

"Cruz's colleagues asked what his strategy was for winning another protracted debt-limit fight. Cruz said there would be no fight, because he was sure five Republicans would join the 55 Democrats in supporting cloture.

"So Sen. Saxby Chambliss checked. He asked all 45 Republicans, who's willing to walk the plank and be the five votes for cloture? Not a single senator raised his hand.

"So most Republicans wanted to allow Democrats to suspend the debt limit, but not one was happy voting to end a filibuster.

"In the end, 12 Republicans, including the entire GOP leadership, voted yea on cloture. Then every Republican voted nay on passing the bill."

There was never a doubt that a debt ceiling hike would pass. But at least Sen. Cruz made sure the GOP was a little more open, if not more honest, about its tactics.