Black Friday – President on the Stump – Democrats for Reelection Running in Opposition Direction – Child with Cancer looses Health Insurance - Affordable Health Care Act (Obama Care) the Remake of 2006.

It is the shopping day known as Black Friday – as one might expect, in an economy with a reduced workforce, retailers have suffered and millions are heading to stores earlier (With Massachusetts one of the few exceptions to the Thursday sale start due to blue laws.) The days have become darker, less optimist for a political party whose leadership has followed a familiar path, one that was doomed to fail before they set foot on their ideological path. The primary cause of the disaster – arrogance and an unwillingness to bend on the side of the Democrats, have caused the health care reform act, known first as Obama Care and now as the Affordable Health Care Act, to bring the party to its knees, reminiscent of the Iraq War under George W. Bush.

The Washington Post speaks to the the President as turning introspective as he campaigns across the country –presumably for the Democrats who are up for reelection in 2014 – all Congressional Representatives as well as a rather serious chunk of the Senate. His focus – blame the Republicans.

The constantly used tactic by the President to play partisan and blame the “other guy” so to speak (not that the other guy is blameless in some cases), when the Health Care Reform Act (Obama Care – Affordable Health Care), is, in a word, causing a disaster in the economy, and in the homes where millions of people are being adversely affected. One recent situation was reported out of Texas, where a family with two children with a rare form of cancer, happy with previous insurance, were told they were out of luck – one child is in serious need of immediate care –

Krista says an insurance agent told her that Hunter's information got lost when they made changes under the new Affordable Care Act. Now, Krista is on a mission to re-gain that insurance, but they're running out of time before his next chemo treatment, and the agent says they can't expedite. "The lady's like, the only way we can expedite is if your son was pregnant and in labor, or if he was an illegal," Krista said.

(KXII – Gainesville, TX)

This is not an isolated case, as millions have lost their coverage, and think tanks suggest up to 90 million insured will be forced into these exchanges, which are, at best inept. – The administration was well aware this would happen, so were the Congressmen and Senators on both sides of the aisle who read the bill.

As much as one might not care for Senator Ted Cruz or Mike Lee, (especially the Republican side of the aisle) as they desperately tried to stop Obama care from being funded and shutting down the government to do so ), they deserve credit for trying to save millions of Americans heartache and frustration.

As a strategy for the Republican’s however, allowing Obama Care to go on as usual was, in a word, Machiavellian. They knew what was in the law, so did the Administration, and they knew loss of coverage was going to mean huge drops in poll numbers for the President and by extension the Presidents party. – Formerly known as the Democrats.

It’s to the point, where there is so much fallout from this legislation that Democrats running for reelection are trying to distance themselves from the President (Denver Post) – Shades of George W. Bush – and if one recalls, that mid-term saw the return of the Democrats – Nancy Pelosi took the reigns as Speaker of the House and Harry Reid, become the Senate Majority Leader. – It was a political route, and one can anticipate another.

If the President could see the forest through his ideological trees, and wish to help out those in his party, and the rest of the nation (if this were remotely possible), the following would have to happen – it would upend the Republicans to boot.

The President would call an emergency session of both congresses – He would use the national bully pulpit and make an immediate announcement that there would need to be changes made immediately to insure the nation was back on track both economically and medically. Obama Care was going to be more than fixed; it would be new – before the next Congress convened.

He would look at the auto insurance industry in Massachusetts, and equate that with the Romney Care fiasco – and use the Auto Insurance option as a model for the Health Care Mandate. In brief.

Open all borders to all insurers, all types of coverage, make mandatory coverage for all carriers basic – preventative services, excluding $3.00 monthly birth control – plans could be al-la-carte, allowing individuals and families to purchase those “riders “allowing them to choose coverage that might be applicable or give peace of mind. – It would be personable responsibility. Those who could not afford insurance at all would be offered either Medicaid or the same coverage that Federal Employees have, again with multiple options.

That website would be turned into an information center, listing what was available to whom. The employer mandates would be gone, and so would the wind from the sails of the opposition.

His bounce among independents and grateful American of all parties would be significant and those Democrats would be begging him to help them campaign.

Totally unlikely but, if one considers the course of Carter’s presidency, and one is a student of history and has access to the information, one would understand that there is still time to turn it around.

One last thing – the President would have to suggest that perhaps the Republican’s were right on the health care option, and reach out publicly to that Party as well as in person, to seal the deal. Blaming the other guy is akin to crying wolf – after a while, the Wolf looks mighty attractive.

Howie Carr, the Sane Voice of Boston – Making the Season Brighter – Offers up his Jaguar as holiday prize

Howie Carr's giving away his "Jag", image by Banks from thephoenix.com

Normally, I am not one to avidly listen to talk radio, keeping the news/weather on the morning and evening drive, as the process of listening to a radio host can be time-consuming and raise one’s blood pressure. That said, there is one exception, as one day several years ago, I happened to find the News/Weather was stuck in between programming for one Howard Lawrence Carr and I was hooked. (Granted in limited time frames). From the guests to Howie’s ability to either make one agree or disagree so strongly one wishes to punch the dashboard, to the irreverent call in lines, Police Blotter sequence and of course, the death pool, Howie Carr and the program that spans New England weekdays from 3pm to 7pm is one of the little oasis of conservative – independent thought in a sea of blue.

Therefore, when this gem showed up in my inbox and it really is the season for giving Thanks, as well as the start of the Christmas Consumer Crush, what a better way to showcase both the spirit of the season and a fine New England personality?

So, tune in, who knows you, might get a chance to meet Howie, win a Jaguar and have a very Merry Christmas. He may even have one of his latest books (being a rather prolific writer) on hand to sign for you and yours.

From the WRKO Studios

BOSTON, MA – Boston’s Talk Station WRKO AM 680 and on-air host Howie Carr announced today they will give listeners the chance to Win Howie’s Jaguar this holiday season.

From December 2nd to December 13th, Howie will contest twice during his show – 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. – to qualify up to 20 listeners to participate in a Grand Prize drawing and earn the chance to drive off in a 2013 Jaguar XF, courtesy of Jaguar Exeter.

The Grand Prize event will take place during a live Howie broadcast from 3 pm to 7 pm Wednesday, December 18th at The Fairways at Woburn Country Club. Each qualifier will receive a $50 gift card to The Green’s Grill and Pub at Woburn Country Club. One lucky finalist will win a two-night stay at The Old Harbor Inn in Chatham, MA and a shot at the Grand Prize.

Even if you aren’t one of the qualifiers, everyone is invited to join Howie for his live broadcast at The Fairways at Woburn Country Club, 5 Country Club Rd., Woburn.

“Win Howie’s Jaguar!” is sponsored by Jaguar Exeter, Perfect Smiles and The Fairways at Woburn Country Club.

For more information, visit www.wrko.com

Trust President Obama? – CNN/ORC – Public – Not So Much – 1 in 4 Believe He Can Manage the Job – It is Not the President’s Fault – the American Public did this to themselves – in 204 and 2016 – Verify – then Trust

A new CNN Poll is out on the Trust in and Job Approval of President Obamaand he is well under water with 53% of American’s finding the President to be untrustworthy, and perhaps worse, only 1 in 4 believe he is competent.

The question one might want to ask is when did the “public” decide that enough was enough? – With approval ratings in 2012 hitting the 40 plus mark in only 10 states (Gallup’s Trust in Institutions), the fact that the public granted the second coming of Jimmy Carter a second chance is mind-boggling. Yes, he’s a nice guy and his intent and vision is not in malice, however – that’s not a reason to allow a second term.

Between the debacle of Obama Care – now called “The Affordable Health Care Act”, the Nuclear Option pulled by the Government Puppet Master, Harry Reid (D-NV) – or the one that actually runs the country, and his new dealings with Iran (See Jimmy Carter, and multiply X 10), there is a palpable angst within the ranks of the so-called low-information voters. Those who are not in that category may be watching extra episodes of “Preppers”.

In 1980, it was not so much that Jimmy Carter was not a nice guy; everyone knew he was a nice guy, the problem was – he was no capable of running more than a peanut farm. In 2008, ironically, we hired a nice guy, who was adept at organizing communities. Both men had zero military experience, managerial experience, or any practical experience at all – and we, the people, gave them the reigns to the most powerful and economically stable countries in the world – which they both promptly drove over a cliff. It is fair to say that they both inherited problems, each President inherits problems, including Clinton and Reagan – but, unlike the aforementioned who quickly hired the right people, and cooperated with those that had a light bulb shining over their heads - Carter and Obama danced to a tune of a very different drummer.

It’s not their fault at all – it is our fault.

To those who blindly followed the media, shame on you, to those who stayed home and did not vote in “Mittens” or “McCain” – (the horrible alternatives, understandably), in the millions, those who would have sealed the election for Romney if they could just get past their fear of a Religious Cult and or their distaste of “Rhino’s”, we’d not be in such a mess today and the Republic would be better off. The bonus would not have to watch a painful realization by the American Public that the Leader of the Free World might not qualify for a job at the local Denny’s.

So, there you have it, nice guy, in over his head from the beginning and he belongs to all of us for the next three (3) years. Suggestions write to the President and tell him to get new advisors (preferably of the Reagan/Clinton administrations – heck the Bush administration – pick one), tell him not to campaign but to talk to the American Public and actually restore confidence instead of blaming every Republican, Unicorn and Bigfoot. Maybe he just needs a bit of moral support, who knows – but he’s ours, and we are stuck with him. The Republican’s, who let the RNC run campaigns into the ground by hiring RHINO’s, well, they are just as much to blame. Before babies are thrown out with the bath water, (see 2013 local elections where fine Democrats and Republicans lost Mayor’s offices and similar seats due to being incumbents), perhaps, a bit of honesty with the American Public about what one really is concerned with (rather than the Party to which one belongs) would be helpful. Ted Cruz, much maligned, is honest, so is Rand Paul – and I’m fairly certain one might find a first term Senator or Governor not tied to the apron strings of a national party on both sides of the aisle who also speaks from the hip. Whoever gets the next job from “we the people” better have some management experience – They are going to be taking on the mess of a lifetime.

Expect the President to be in a freefall (see George W. Bush) from now until he hands over the reins to the next President.

2014 – Balance of Power in the Senate Hangs on Mistake of Democrats End to Minority Filibusters, and the Affordable Health Care Act, formerly known as Obamacare.

One does not even know the players in the 2016 Presidential stakes, however, there are the “maybes” that are being touted, yet it is a long way off. What is of import, perhaps more so than the 2016 elections, are the 2014 midterms, which will determine what power the political parties wield, and the power of the President. There have been a few errors recently that have set in motion the possibility for a serious route for the Democrats in 2014, and it is of their own doing.

The first was the disastrous rollout of Obamacare, the website dysfunction alone was not that big of a deal, it was the cancelled policies (with more to come) and the President insisting, time and again, individuals could keep their plans, he finally offered half an apology, and suggested that those who lost their plans, were paying more, or could no longer afford insurance, were getting better plans in the long run. What this did was assure the American people that trust in Obama was akin to trusting the wind – he’s lost much in the polls.

This, of course, with a less popular and floundering President, an angry and annoyed opposition party (over the Reid use of the Nuclear option to end all debates in the senate), will not necessarily affect the President (other than his legacy) but it will affect those Democrats running for reelection in 2014. The die has been cast, and it is only up to Republican’s or Independents to lose, rather than win those seats that a child could steal at this point.

An article in the Boston Globe suggests that donors to the Democrats, and specifically the fundraiser in Chief Obama, are starting to have grave doubts about investing in campaigns that stand no chance of winning. That, coming from one of the media cheerleaders, is telling. This is regardless of the fact that a “Hail Mary’ of delaying the enrollment until 2015 put into place this weekend and designed to “save” Democrats in Danger of losing the house, in all probability won’t matter a bit.

Those who have had any experience with the program at all are not thrilled and the majority of the public wants the mandate gone. – Delay or not wont’ help. The bigger problem is the Reid end of the 225 year Senate Filibuster in order to place more power in the hands of the controlling party. Of course, that’s a short term move. When the Republican’s suggested that they might opt to do the same in 2005, the Democrats were mightily opposed, as the editorial in the Dallas Morning News suggests that move will come back to haunt them – sooner than later.

An interesting take on the move by Reid can be found at Bloomberg news, written by Megan McArdle , who writes that Reid invoked the Nuclear Option out of desperation, in other words, Reid knew that in 2014 there would be a turn in fortunes for the Republican’s and/or Independents, and that the Democrats would most certainly loose the Senate, and at present it appears the House will remain in the hands of the Republicans. The reasoning is simple, Reid, in making this move, was helping the President get as much as he could in the remaining time – such as judicial appointments.

Either that or Reid is well aware of what has taken place in the special elections, and in the smaller local races across the nation – Democrats are poison, and more lost than won, down to the City Council. When that occurs, and the distrusts in Washington, especially for incumbents are as toxic as it is now, those in power should be as non-toxic as possible. One might also suggest that those Republicans’ who are feeling rather confident should rethink their positions, as they also could become a former Senator or Congressional Representative on the turn of a dime. That is not to suggest someone would choose a Democrat over a Republican, rather “other” than the standard Party.

What should be most interesting in the coming months will be Gallup’s Presidential approval by State, should it drop to more dangerous levels, mimicking his overall drop in approve (under 40), then those Democrats up for reelection might want to distance themselves from the President, in much the same way that the Republicans did with Bush in 2006 – although, one might recall, that did little good whatsoever.