Happy Hour Roundup

WhoRunsGov "* Uh oh. Senate parliamentarian declines to rule for now for on GOP’s first stab at killing reconciliation. Dems and GOPers alike tell me they aren’t sure when he’ll weigh in, and any delay suggests he may be taking the GOP’s complaint seriously." More points as well.

Issues of the Day

Victor Davis Hanson "Whether Israel and the Palestinians, or the British again in the Falklands, or the Columbians, or the Hondurans, or the Poles and Czechs, there is no particular advantage in being a pro-American democratic ally; attention and outreach instead come from being our antithesis."

Obamacare Isn’t Inevitable

National Review Online "The Democrats had no mandate to take these steps. In 2008, the president campaigned both against forcing people to buy insurance and against taxing their benefits. The legislation runs counter to the campaign on both points. The president promised to change Washington. He has made its stench more noisome, winning this vote by using every kind of deceit and (legal) corruption, and over the objection of a bipartisan coalition representing most Americans."

Preparing Legal Challenges to Health Care

American Center for Law and Justice "There will be several areas that will be challenged - including the individual mandate - the language requiring Americans to purchase health coverage - even if they disagree with the pro-abortion aspects of the law. That violates the Commerce Clause of the Constitution and one of the key areas that will be litigated. As many as 35 states - including Virginia and Florida - are poised to file lawsuits once the measure is signed into law. There are significant issues involving the rights of states which this health care package violates."

Repeal

Heritage "This is why opposition to this bill will only grow. Supporters of this bill argue that popular hostility will recede upon its passage. But, rather than cementing our descent into a European-style welfare state, last night’s passage of Obamacare is best seen as a historic turning point, a true catalyst for real change. I write to reassure our supporters, the conservative movement, and the American people at large that The Heritage Foundation will do all within its power to keep this issue alive in the public square and make the intellectual case for the repeal of this act. We will bring all our resources to bear on behalf of those who believe America is and will always remain the Land of the Free."

Is ObamaCare Headed for a Supreme Court Smackdown?

Michael Filozof, AT "But Conservatives and Tea Partiers despondent over the fact that liberal Democrats just passed a massive encroachment on our liberties over their massive protests should take hope. James Madison saw this coming, and his forethought will give opponents of ObamaCare one last shot at killing it. In Federalist #10, Madison wrote "Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm." (Boy, did he ever get THAT right.)"

AN AMERICA WITH OBAMACARE

Neal Boortz "Are you impressed how the Democrats managed to create two new entitlement programs and yet still decrease the deficit with their healthcare bill? At least, that is what they claim. But anyone with an ounce of brains knows that this is simply too good to be true. So considering all of the gimmicks and new taxes, The Heritage Foundation sums up with America will look like in the aftermath of Obamacare." Then this: Obamacare will haunt Democrats for years to come .

Political Cartoons by Gary Varvel

Townhall

Obama Pays More Than Buffett as U.S. Risks AAA Rating

Bloomberg "While Treasuries backed by the full faith and credit of the government typically yield less than corporate debt, the relationship has flipped as Moody’s Investors Service predicts the U.S. will spend more on debt service as a percentage of revenue this year than any other top-rated country except the U.K. America will use about 7 percent of taxes for debt payments in 2010 and almost 11 percent in 2013, moving “substantially” closer to losing its AAA rating, Moody’s said last week. " Pay attention to this; great upheavals can lurk in the murkiest of reports.

Stupak Announces $726,409 For Airports

Sweetness&Light "It’s just a coincidence, no doubt. And there is surely a lot more to come. At least we like to think that our politicians aren’t being bought and sold at such low prices. By the way, have we mentioned lately that there is no such thing as a ‘moderate Democrat’? There are just Democrats." And here: Bart Stupak, Cheap Suit, Congresscritter of Easy Virtue, Rube, Hogarthian Trollop "...He traded principled resistance for the fig leaf of a useless executive order." And here: Stupak was for the bill all along

Hidden Deep Within ObamaCare, Racial Preferences

Pajamas Media "...the bill specifies that the secretary of Health and Human Services, “in awarding grants or contracts under this section … shall give preferences to entities that have a demonstrated record of … training individuals who are from underrepresented minority groups or disadvantaged backgrounds.” The bill doesn’t say what would qualify as a “demonstrated record,” so if ObamaCare passes you can expect that medical schools and other training institutions will do whatever they can to get away with training as many people as possible from so-called “disadvantaged backgrounds.” "

We’ve Crossed the Rubicon

Victor Davis Hanson "So we are in revolutionary times in which the government will grow to assume everything from energy use to student loans, while abroad we are a revolutionary sort of power, eager to mend fences with Syria and Iran, more eager still to distance ourselves from old Western allies like Israel and Britain. There won’t be any more soaring rhetoric from Obama about purple-state America, “reaching across the aisle,” or healing our wounds. That was so 2008. Instead, we are in the most partisan age since Vietnam, ushered into it by the self-acclaimed “non-partisan.” But how could it be anything else?"

What Freedom Demands

Hot Air "Tonight, the Democrat Party declares war on the American middle class. They are gambling on the forced creation of an entitlement we’ll be too exhausted and weary to reject – no matter how poor its quality, corrupt its inception, or unbearable its cost. We do have one last chance to strike this down. There is no reason any Democrat up for re-election in 2010 or 2012 needs to retain their seats. They don’t own those seats, any more than the Kennedys owned Massachussetts. There’s no reason the Democrats need to exist as a viable political party after 2012. Obama can be their last President." But it has to happen before we become addicted to this government-controlled life.

Voter Backlash Beyond ObamaCare

Rosslyn Smith, AT "Voter anger is building on issues beyond ObamaCare. The large group of people already angry over runaway spending and ObamaCare are now being joined by those angry at the EPA for moving forward with controls on greenhouse gases without congressional action -- and without considering the economic impact on the economy. Like the Tea Party movement, this group cuts across geographical and political lines. "

Where Were You When the Republic Died?

Matt Patterson "The Republicans? Assuming the GOP can take back both houses of Congress and the White House in the next couple of elections (by no means a sure thing), can you name one gigantic entitlement enacted by liberals that Republicans have successfully repealed? Or even made serious effort to repeal? Ever? Anyone? "

GAME OVER ... LET ME TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Neal Boortz "Taxes, of course, go up immediately."...."Businesses will hunker down even more than they have been."...."As health insurance premiums rise - as people start clogging doctors offices - as the quality of care gradually declines - there will be more and more cries from the dumb masses for the government to "do something." "

Sharpton: “Americans Overwhelmingly Voted For Socialism When They Elected Obama” (Video)

Gateway Pundit "This is another example that every once in a while, a democrat forgets his talking points and speaks the truth. Barack Obama explained it this way last night– “This is what Change looks like.” "