Dig Deep

AllahPundit:

It’s legit. Her pops sent out a blast e-mail about it a little while ago and I’m told the link’s posted on his Facebook page, so fire away. Not that she’ll need the money: The lawsuit’s weak, the jury will be on her side, and apparently Hannity’s set to beam this link out to America on tonight’s show, which means she’ll be swimming in dough come morning. Still, it’s a way to thank her for her work and to reward her for her courage, which is now being recognized by U.S. Senators. Free advice to the fund administrators, though: Add a $5 option so that people can make micro-donations. There’s big money in that. Ask the president.

I’ll post the info for O’Keefe’s defense fund once it’s available. (Why don’t they have a joint fund, incidentally?)

Andrew Breitbart drew blood – serious blood – with this effort by O’Keefe and Giles. I fully expect that he will stand by them through this lawsuit, but kicking in some funds is a good thing, too. It sends a message that there is still a powerful opposition that will not be steamrollered in this country.

The Stalin Option

Mark Tapscott:

But that is what government always does as it becomes more costly, intrusive and intolerant of dissent. As if to drive the point home, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a gag order this week telling all private companies participating in the Medicare Advantage program to shut up. Violators would face fines and jail time. Forget the First Amendment.

The gag order was issued after Humana Corp. sent a letter to its policyholders who participate in Medicare Advantage telling them the facts about Obamacare’s effect on the program. The companies were ordered “to end immediately all such mailings to beneficiaries and to remove any related materials directed to Medicare enrollees from your website.”

The bureaucrats added this blunt threat: “Please be advised that we take this matter very seriously and, based upon the findings of our investigation, will pursue compliance and enforcement actions. ….”

Those, my friends, are the words of soft tyranny. How much longer before it becomes a hard tyranny?

History – and the words of progressives themselves – suggest not long. Consider New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman’s telling admiration for the communist thugs who run the Chinese government:

“One-party autocracy certainly has its drawbacks. But when it is led by a reasonabley enlightened group of people, as China is today, it can also have great advantages. That one party can just impose the politically difficult but critically important policies needed to move a society forward in the 21st century.”

That in a nutshell is the totalitarian temptation that plagues all who would use the power of the state to impose their vision of the good society on the rest of us.

It’s the ever-present Stalin whispering in the progressive ear: “Ignore those reactionary, loud-mouthed, ignorant Tea Party protesters and decree Obamacare, Waxman-Markey, and all the rest of it. Do it now while you have the power!”

Please go over and read the whole piece. It is the deadly danger of statism, regardless of ideology. The totalitarian instinct is never far below the surface.  

The left is anything but liberal – I generally do not use that word to describe the left at all. These are some of the worst authoritarians America has ever produced. They stay out of your bedrooms – mostly – but feel free to mandate what is in your refrigerators, your driveway, your home and your thoughts. They feel it their business to take away your smokes, your Cokes, your choices and your decisions.

And yes, they will be even more draconian if given the chance.

Signs And Portents

If Jay Cost can’t figure this one out, it must be pretty darn murky. How close are the Democrats to ramming some sort of health care “reform” down America’s throat? Cost is not sure, but the signs and portents are not particularly auspicious:

This does not seem like a beneficial development for reform efforts, in my opinion. You have one faction within the Democratic Party whipping in one direction, another whipping in the opposite direction. And we’re supposed to be just six weeks out from a final bill? Importantly, I’ve not yet seen evidence that one side or the other is prepared to buckle. Until I do, I have to conclude that serious hurdles remain.

Relatedly, there are reports that Pelosi intends to push the House bill to the left. Is this a sign that the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) holds the most sway in the chamber? Or is it a reflection of her policy preferences? Either way, what happens during the conference process if the CPC remains staunch in its support of a robust public option?

Also, I have seen a lot of Baucus-blasting on the progressive blogs over the last few weeks. There has also been fighting between DailyKos and FireDogLake, on the one hand, and Blue Dog leader Jim Cooper on the other. That is not a positive sign. If Democrats are prepared to come together around a single measure, I have not seen a heck of a lot of evidence of it. It is quite possible that not just Republicans – but some faction of the Democratic Party – is going to be on the outside looking in if a bill is passed.

Obama and the Congressional Democrats tried mightily to pass this thing in a rush before the August recess. They failed and, as a result, an awful lot of Democrats in the trenches (as opposed to the leadership) got an earful from a lot of constituents. Despite the spin and all the water-carrying by the media, I think a lot of those Democrats in not-so-safe seats are genuinely worried about their political survival.

The Democrats are now trying to impose another deadline – they want a bill within six weeks. Cost quotes Mickey Kaus, who points out why:

“Orszag Sees Health Law in Six Weeks” (Bloomberg): OMB Director Peter Orszag didn’t really predict a health care law in six weeks–he said “The goal would be, yes, over the next six weeks or so, maybe sooner,.” We know all about “goals.” But the 6-week frame is not an accident, because something happens in 6 weeks: elections. If Democrats lose big gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, that could produce a new wave of jitters among already skittish Congressional swing Democrats.

I think that’s exactly right. If the Democrats lose in Virginia and New Jersey, there is almost no chance whatsoever of ObamaCare – in pretty much any form – passing. If they sweep both, we will be fighting a rear-guard action to try to repeal. Split decision is a pick. 

All the more reason to keep calling your members of Congress – now. Really. Keep calling, keep writing, keep up the pressure. Let them know you are not happy and you want ObamaCare stopped and real reform started again from square one.