FREEDOMWORKS 10/23/2014

1. ObamaCare Enrollment Delays Hide Insurance Cost Hikes Till After Elections - by Josh Withrow On October 1st of last year, ObamaCare’s inaugural enrollment period launched with all of the grace of a rocket exploding on its launch pad. Double-digit premium hikes, cancelled plans, and non-functioning websites caused misery for millions, leaving even supporters of the law lacking for words at times. This October there is silence, with few outside of the beltway focused on anything to do with ObamaCare. Has the system been fixed – is ObamaCare working? Not at all. People in many states can still expect to be met with premium increases for their health insurance – well into the double digits for some states – and some of those who enrolled in the exchanges last year will be in for a hassle as their plans come up for renewal. Only, those problems will not be apparent to many until this year’s new enrollment period, which begins on November 15th. By stunning coincidence, that’s after the midterm elections. Read more here... 2. Watch FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe discuss political partisanship on PBS World this Sunday at 7PM ET. 3. Barack Obama: Democrats Avoiding Me "Are All Folks Who Vote with Me, They Have Supported My Agenda in Congress" - by Jason Pye Earlier this month, President Barack Obama told a crowd at Northwestern University that, even though he's "not on the ballot this fall," his agenda is. "But make no mistake," he said. "These policies are on the ballot, every single one of them.” Vulnerable Senate Democratic incumbents -- including Mark Udall (D-CO), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Kay Hagan (D-NC), Mark Begich (D-AK), and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) -- have spent much of the election cycle trying to avoid any connection to President Obama. They've all tried claimed independence from the Obama administration and have tried to distance themselves from its policies. Read more here... Paid for by FreedomWorks for America and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. http://freedomworksforamerica.org 4. FreedomWorks University: Asset Forfeiture In the latest installment of FreedomWorks University's Civil Liberties series, Billy has landed himself in hot water again, as he learns that the police have more power than he realized and "innocent until proven guilty" doesn't mean what it used to. You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll learn about civil asset forfeiture! Watch here... 5. Blue Flight - by Logan Albright via RedState With the midterm elections rapidly approaching, professional forecasters are focusing much of their attention on traditionally red states in middle America, such as Iowa, Arkansas, Louisiana, and West Virginia. Many of these races are tighter than they should be, given the unpopularity of the president and his policies. At the same time, polling companies are admitting that they are expecting greater polling error this year. Part of this, they attribute to the difficulties in predicting turnout, but one cannot help but wonder to what extent rapidly shifting demographics are playing a role in this election’s high degree of uncertainty. Read more here... 6. Here's How Big Government Bureaucrats Have Wasted $25 Billion of your Money - by Jason Pye Before the Continuing Resolution and debt ceiling battle last year, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), in an interview with CNN's Candy Crowley, tried to dismiss the push for spending cuts. “[T]he cupboard is bare. There’s no more cuts to make. It’s really important that people understand that," said Pelosi. "We all want to reduce the deficit. We’re all committed to that. Put everything on the table. Review it. But you cannot have any more cuts just for the sake of cuts. Right now, you’re taking trophies." Um, yeah, false. There may be wailing and gnashing of teeth about the sequester, but, in reality, there's still plenty of wasteful federal spending that could and should be slashed. And it's not like Congress has to go very far to find a starting point. This morning, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) released Wastebook 2014, an annual report outlining the 100 most egregious examples of government spending. Read more here... 7. Catch Matt Kibbe on Stossel this Thursday at 9 PM ET on Fox Business Network Independent Women’s Voice Policy Analyst Hadley Heath Manning and FreedomWorks CEO Matt Kibbe discuss the wrongs of politicians making their jobs a career. See a preview here... 8. Clearing Up Net Neutrality There is much debate and confusion today regarding the significance of Net Neutrality and Title II regulation of the Internet. FreedomWorks seeks to clear up some of the major myths and misconceptions of the debate. Watch here... In Liberty, Jackie Bodnar Director of Communications, FreedomWorks