Via The Hutchinson News:

There are members of Congress who feel we ought not to pick winners and losers, to let the markets decided. I believe it’s better to get this industry up and running, then let the country decide… rather than pull the rug out overnight.

Never before has there been such a plainspoken defense of picking winners and losers.  Whenever you hear someone in Washington talk about manipulating the market it always down to this: I believe this is the right way and I am not going to let the country decide.

The Heritage Foundation’s Nick Loris has the details on why targeted tax credits are neither conservative nor free market.

Bizzy Blog – Tom Blumer – While Beating Up Republicans, Press Lets Obama Super-Sized Fib About His Job-Creation Record Pass

Colorado Peak Politics – Staff – The Great Solar Panel Payback

Doug Ross @ Journal – Director Blue – Stunning Report: Obama Used Administrative Earmarks to Buy Congressional Support for His Wildly Unpopular Agenda

FedUpUSA – Stephanie – Inflation is Higher Than You Think; The Federal Reserve Orchestrating Biggest Banking Bailout in History

The Locker Room – George Leef – What’s Another 15 Million Wasted By the Government?

The Lonely Conservative – Staff – Obamanomics: Private Sector Only Recovered Three Eighths of Jobs Lost

Marathon Pundit – John Ruberry – What’s Worse Than Federal Control Over the Internet? UN Control!

Michigan Capitol Confidential – Jack Spencer – Further Down the Rabbit Hole: Forced Unionization ‘Dues Skim’ Linked to West Coast Scandal

Northwest Daily Marker – Brandon Myrick – Obama Budget Burdens Average Household With $200K in Federal Debt, Republicans Say

Right Angles – Donna Martinez – Let’s All Get on Unemployment and Get This Economy Roaring Again!

Vermont Tiger – John McClaughry – The Evil School Choice Plot

And they’re getting help. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is doing its part to tout the bill and it’s big-government spending priorities. Now, to be fair, the Chamber does some good things – like defending free enterprise – for the country, but this is not one of them.

The Chamber will be spending $500,000 on their “Make Transportation Job #1” campaign. They will be running radio and television ads in Arkansas, Idaho, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Wyoming. The Chamber’s executive director of transportation and infrastructure, Janet Kavinoky, described the campaign:

“The idea is to get out, give people a good sense what the bill is and get them talking to their members of Congress and have them get the bill done,” Kavinoky said. “We want Congress to feel like it needs to come back to Washington and get the bill done and put it to bed.”

This is not just some issue that needs to be passed, as it has been in the past. That is the reason spending has been climbing so rapidly. Congress passes something under the radar and Americans don’t pay attention. When that happens, Members of Congress feel they can put all kinds of big-government priorities into the bill and no one will notice. This needs to stop.

The highway bill, as we’ve stated before, spends more money than revenues will bring in. This will result in taxpayer funded bailouts to cover the difference. It also relies heavily on a new revenue stream – from expanded oil and gas exploration – to make up some of that difference.

Any new revenues and spending offsets should be used to pay down our debt and deficit, and not to justify NEW spending binges. Just finding new ways to pay for new spending won’t help our economy, and will bring us closer to collapse – by using these new revenues for anything other than deficit reduction will take us in the wrong direction.

Stay vigilant! Don’t be fooled by slick ads and political double-speak. This bill spends more than we have and needs to be stopped.

We’ve been fighting this bill for nearly a year now, and are excited that Rep. Barletta has become the 20^th Congressman to remove his name from the list. Twenty Congressmen removing their names from co-sponsorship of a bill is unheard of in Washington. We’ve never seen it before.

The NAT GAS Act would provide government subsidies for every aspect of the natural gas vehicle industry – from building the vehicles, to purchasing the vehicles, to even subsidizing the cost of the fuel itself. At a time when the government spends far too much money, and subsidizes nearly every industry in some way, it would be absurd to extend its reach into yet another sector. Especially because the natural gas industry doesn’t need to be subsidized.

Related Links:
Conservative Groups Oppose NAT GAS Act
Stop the Natural Gas Streaker
Heritage: Natural Gas Vehicle Subsidies Hurt Consumers

This comes with another report, showing that now, 59% of Catholics disapprove of the job that President Obama is doing. This, of course, comes after the Administration forced Catholic institutions to provide free contraceptives, morning after pills and some abortion-inducing medications to their employees.

On the heels of last week’s payroll tax deal, Washington pundits began asking whether the Party of No was dead. As is often the case, the professional pundits have it all wrong. The Party of No is alive and well.

This time around though, the partiers have a “D” next to their name. When President Obama unveiled his budget last week, his former Democratic Senate colleagues met it with a mix of silence and condemnation.

One of President Obama’s closest confidants, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), remained noticeably silent. The inside-Washington publication Roll Call observed that Senator Reid instead “referenced former President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s bold push for a transnational highway system in the 1950s.”

Read the entire column…

“Yesterday, House Republican leaders wisely decided it was time to turn the tables. Instead of allowing an extension of the payroll tax cut to languish in a conference committee infested with obstinate Democrats who are demanding job-destroying tax hikes as a ‘pay for,’ they decided to bring forward a clean extension that will run for the remainder of the year.”

In addition to The Daily Caller, our payroll position was picked up across the country:

The Hill: But Boehner got political cover on his right flank on Monday, as the conservative group Heritage Action applauded the stand-alone payroll tax proposal and argued it would “deny obstinate Senate Democrats the ability to play partisan games.” Heritage has opposed several leadership bills over the last year, helping to siphon off conservative votes.

Roll Call: Still, Republican aides said, the Conference will probably back the plan. Giving GOP lawmakers cover, Heritage Action for America released a statement Monday stating that “it is past time to move beyond this issue” and that this move would “deny obstinate Senate Democrats the ability to play partisan games.”

CQ (sub. req’d): Congressman Heyworth: Well, I think they deserve to have our respect, and they, of course, are prominent voices as we go forward. It’s my understanding that Heritage Action has endorsed that alternative approach with extension of that payroll tax holiday for another 10 months…

The Bellingham Herald: In dealing with the GOP rank-and-file, at least, Republican leaders got some help Monday from Heritage Action, the political arm of the Heritage Foundation, which appeared to provide cover to conservative lawmakers as they return to Washington this week to be briefed on the issue.

And MSNBC’s Luke Russert mentioned us on News Nation with Tamron Hall:

We also received a lot of press for our continued opposition to the current transportation bill:

The Hill: Heritage Action, the political arm for the conservative Heritage Foundation, pointed out that the original proposal from Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) limited spending to the $40 billion brought in each year by the federal gas tax.

The Hill: Right-leaning groups such as Heritage Action and the Club for Growth oppose the bill. And it’s not an easy “yes” vote for Republicans facing contested primaries.

Politico: KEYING UP THE HOUSE BILL: Heritage Action for America told members to vote no on the House bill, just days after the Club for Growth did the same. The group issued a key vote alert late Monday and said, “Passing this bill as the first major piece of legislation in 2012 sends the absolute wrong message about the spending priorities of House Republicans.”

Politico: STUCK BETWEEN A HERITAGE AND A HARD PLACE — A floor vote on the bill will force GOP rank and file to choose between their leadership and conservative Heritage Action for America. The group is opposing the bill on spending grounds and issued a release Monday saying a “yes” vote would hurt House members’ scores on the group’s conservative ranking scale.

Politico: The Club for Growth has called on lawmakers to oppose the measure. A spokesman for Heritage Action for America says splitting up the bill doesn’t change the group’s opposition.

ABC: The Club for Growth, a free-market, anti-tax group influential with fiscal conservatives, and the political arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation have objected to both the House and the Senate bills.

L.A. Times: Heritage Action for America, a conservative group, has expressed concern about the bill’s level of spending. It also said the bill “seeks to find additional sources of revenue, most of which have no relationship to road usage, thus breaking the user pays principle.”

RedState: There is a reason the Heritage Action for America, Club for Growth, Competitive Enterprise Institute, and other conservative organizations are opposed to this spending spree. It is not conservative. It should not be Republican. It is Barack Obama style spending.

Huffington Post: To make sure Republicans don’t slip, Heritage Action has made voting for the transportation segment of the bill a punishable offense on its scorecard, which grades members of Congress on their conservatism.

NRDC Switchboard: For example, Heritage Action has written and alerted conservative activists about it repeatedly, as has the Center for American Progress. Both the Club for Growth and the League of Conservation Voters are threatening to score the vote as part of their influential Congressional report cards.

Torque News: Yesterday the Transportation Bill was seen as a disaster, with some Conservatives claiming it’s an unaffordable boondoggle, with Democratic Party lawmakers in complete opposition to the bill, it appeared doomed to defeat. Both the Club for Growth and Heritage Action for America oppose the bill. In a desperation move the House Rules Committee additionally split the bill into three parts, so that each part can be debated and voted on separately.

Dēmos: Last week, the House GOP introduced their version of a transportation bill and it seems they managed to appall everyone with how bad it was, including their own base. The conservative Club for Growth urged members to vote no on the bill, as did Heritage Action for America.

In addition to these issues, our scorecard continues to be used in the race for Illinois’ 16^th Congressional District, with a mention in the Chicago Sun-Times.

And a blog by our Director of Senate Relations, Tripp Baird, was picked up by RedState:

“As Tripp Baird of Heritage Action notes, Kyl’s negotiation with Obama regarding weapons modernization helped secure the support of Republicans like Lamar Alexander.  While Kyl personally voted against ratification of START, 13 Republicans supported it, granting Obama more than enough votes to ratify the treaty.”

Knowing that we’re helping to influence the political conversation as well as the continued use of our scorecard as the measure of conservatism is a huge win, and it’s all thanks to supporters like you who work to hold Congress accountable.

Bizzy Blog – Tom Blumer – Obama’s Farcial Budget Betrays a Crisis-Driven Electoral Strategy

Conservative Brand – Staff – Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm … Obama’s Cafeteria Police

Doug Ross @ Journal – Director Blue – Meet the Masterminds Who Will Decide What Kind of Healthcare You and Your Family Will Receive

Electric City Weblog – Gregg Smith – Where are the Jobs?

FitsNews – Staff – More On “The Recovery”

Illinois Review – Staff – Without Additional Taxpayer Subsidy, Illinois Wind Industry Runs Out of Power

The Lonely Conservative – Staff – Another Scary Chart, and Tim Geithner is Making Our Case for Us

Marathon Pundit – John Ruberry – Greed: Chicago Teacher’s Union Asking for 30 Percent Raise

Red Dog Report – Brian O’Connor – Geithner Calls Obama Budget ‘Unsustainable’

The Volokh Conspiracy – Jonathan Adler – Where’s the Contraception Compromise?

Over the past three years, the Obama Administration has implemented regulations designed to push workers into unions.  Despite public push back and increased congressional scrutiny, they continue to advance Big Labor’s political agenda.

Fortunately, Representative Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced the Employee Rights Act (H.R. 2810), which would amend the National Labor Relations Act to make it an unlawful labor practice for a labor organization or its agents to interfere with the rights of employees to organize and select representation to collectively bargain.

Representative Scott’s bill will also:

- Require a neutral, private organization, chosen by agreement between an employer and a labor organization that is the exclusive representative of employees;

- Require the NLRB to give 14-days advance notice before a hearing when it is investigating an election petition;

- Amend the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (Landrum-Griffin Act); and,

- Prohibit the use of an employee’s union dues for any purpose not directly related to the labor organization’s collective bargaining.

The federal government should protect workers’ freedoms, not push them into unwanted unions and force them to pay union dues. By some estimates, 90% of all union members never voted to join the union.  It is time to bring U.S. labor policy into the 21st-century to deal with the challenges facing today’s workers.

Related:
Opportunity, Parity, Choice: A Labor Agenda for the 112^th Congress
Proposed Union Rules Harm Workers and Job Creation

Three years have gone by, but what did President Obama claim back then that the stimulus would do? Let’s take a look back at the statements he made in Colorado on the day he signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:

“We will need to end a culture where we ignore problems until they become full-blown crises instead of recognizing that the only way to build a thriving economy is to set and enforce firm rules of the road.”

Well, each of the President’s four budgets that he’s produced have ignored the ballooning entitlement crises, even though we know that programs like Medicare and Social Security will become insolvent in the early 2020’s.

“And while we need to do everything in the short-term to get our economy moving again, we must recognize that having inherited a trillion-dollar deficit, we need to begin restoring fiscal discipline and taming our exploding deficits over the long-term.”

So that’s why President Obama proposed trillion dollar deficits in each of his budgets and massive sustained deficits of more than half a trillion dollars for the next decade?

“The road to recovery will not be straight and true. It will demand courage and discipline, and a new sense of responsibility that has been missing — from Wall Street to Washington.”

Courage? Discipline? The President has been in almost non-stop campaign mode since last summer, where’s the courage to lead? And as for discipline, increasing spending every year and threatening tax hikes to pay for it is not discipline.

“But I have every confidence that if we are willing to continue doing the difficult work that must be done — by each of us and by all of us — then we will leave this struggling economy behind us, and come out on the other side, more prosperous as a people.”

It’s been three years, are we more prosperous? Even President Obama doesn’t think so.

“For our American story is not — and has never been — about things coming easy.”

Except that is all the President has been peddling these past three years. “Punish the successful, and you’ll be better off” seems to be his governing philosophy – and our country is weaker because of it.