Wilson said that a Special Prosecutor would need to be called “to investigate the possibility of White House complicity in this union thuggery.” The White House told representatives and senators ‘punch back twice as hard’ against opposition to Barack Obama’s government-run health care initiative, and “clearly some of their followers took the message to heart,” Wilson said.

According to Kenneth Gladney’s attorney, David B. Brown, “Kenneth was attacked on the evening of August 6, 2009 at Rep. Russ Carnahan’s town hall meeting in South St. Louis County. I was at the town hall meeting as well and witnessed the events leading up to the attack of Kenneth. Kenneth was approached by an SEIU representative as Kenneth was handing out ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ flags to other conservatives.”

The statement continued, “The SEIU representative demanded to know why a black man was handing out these flags. The SEIU member used a racial slur against Kenneth, then punched him in the face. Kenneth fell to the ground. Another SEIU member yelled racial epithets at Kenneth as he kicked him in the head and back. Kenneth was also brutally attacked by one other male SEIU member and an unidentified woman.”

According to the statement, “The three men were clearly SEIU members, as they were wearing T-shirts with the SEIU logo.”

“This sort of thuggish political violence is what one would expect in Mussolini’s Italy by the Black Shirts,” said Wilson, adding that, “This is pure fascist aggression. The SEIU is sending out goon squads to beat people up who disagree with ObamaCare.  Only a Special Prosecutor can determine if it was done with the knowledge of the White House and Congressman Carnahan.”

After watching the video, Wilson said, “The part where the attackers claimed they were attacked, when Mr. Gladney is clearly on his back, is straight out of the SEIU-ACORN playbook. They train their thugs well. Only, this time, they were caught.”

According to Brown’s statement, Gladney was being civil when he was attacked: “Kenneth was beaten badly. One assailant fled on foot; three others were arrested. Kenneth was admitted to St. John’s Mercy Medical Center emergency room, where he was treated for his numerous injuries. Kenneth was merely expressing his freedom of speech by handing out the flags. In fact, he merely asked people as they exited the town hall meeting whether they would like a flag.”

Brown insisted that Gladney “in no way provoked any argument or altercation, as evidenced by the fact that three assailants were arrested.”

“This is a sad chapter in American history,” Wilson declared, “when a man is cruelly assaulted by political hooligans merely for expressing his beliefs and exercising his First Amendment rights to speak freely and peaceably assemble.”

Wilson said there was a causal relationship between the White House’s call to “punch back” against opposition to Barack Obama’s government-run health care initiative and the incident. “The White House sent out millions of emails, as did the DNC, and the SEIU, all calling on supporters to attend these meetings. And now we know why.”

The SEIU, the Service Employees International Union, was formed by Wade Rathke, also founder of the  group, ACORN, which Barack Obama served as an attorney for. “These are the same people that helped get Barack Obama elected,” Wilson explained.

“Barack Obama has long-time financial and material relationship with ACORN and SEIU. SEIU donated $30.8 million to Obama’s campaign, organized volunteers, and campaigned on his behalf.  ACORN is under investigation for crimes in 15 states, and Barack Obama served as their attorney at one point.  He even gave them $800,000 in 2008 for ‘get-out-the-vote’ efforts.  And now they’re carrying out his dirty work,” Wilson added.

According to the Brown’s statement, “This was a truly senseless hate crime carried out by racist union thugs. Regretfully, Representative Carnahan’s statements blaming Kenneth for being a disruptive force are wholly untrue and slanderous.”

Carnahan today stated that “Sadly, we’ve seen stories about disrupters around the country, and we have a handful of them here in Missouri.”

“The only disruption that occurred was of Mr. Gladney’s rights to life-and-limb as an American citizen,” Wilson said in response, charging that, “Carnahan appears to have been complicit in the incident.”

Wilson also condemned press outlets for failing to report on Mr. Gladney’s story. “Where is the controlled media?” Wilson asked. “Where is CNN? Where is Olbermann and Matthews? They rave about ‘mobs’ but turn a blind eye to a man who was beaten by union thugs. They should hang their heads in shame, or else apply for network anchor positions in Venezuela.”

Wilson said a Special Prosecutor to investigate the White House, SEIU, and Carnahan was necessary because “The American people have no faith in Eric Holder’s Justice Department, which just let two goons off-the-hook who were intimidating voters in 2008 at a Philadelphia polling station with Billy clubs.”

“If anyone thinks there was no relationship between Obama’s call to “punch back” and this brutality in the streets of St. Louis, we have some nice real estate that runs over the East River in New York we’d think they’d be interested in purchasing,” Wilson concluded.

Interview Availability: Please contact Robert Romano at (703)383-0880 or at Robert@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

# # #

“Barack Obama has made some of the most radical appointments in U.S. history, and these 14 nominations in particular should be subject to a recorded vote at a minimum,” said Wilson, adding that “Some of the nominees have serious conflicts of interest or are otherwise unqualified for the position they are expected to serve in.”

Americans for Limited Government has published a brief background on each of the 14 nominees stating the organization’s objections, some of which include:

• Cass Sunstein (Admin. Off. Of Information and Reg. Affairs, OMB): Favors giving animals right to sue, favors limits First and Second Amendment limits, and “would like another Bill of Rights to guarantee employment, food, clothing, shelter, education, recreation, and health care.”

• Arturo Valenzuela (Asst. Sec. for Western Hemisphere Affairs): Has defended Hugo Chavez’s suppression of the free press in Venezuela, favored better relations with Cuba, and supported Obama Administration policy against Honduras.

• John Fernandez (Asst. Sec. of Commerce for Economic Development) “John Fernandez approved the spending of $1 million of taxpayers’ money for the demolition of a building on private property. He later took a job with the property’s owner.”

• Karen Kornbluh (Perm. Rep. of the U.S. to OECD): Authored the 2008 Democrat Party platform and her husband works for a firm that lobbies the State Department.

• Julia A. Clark (General Counsel for Federal Labor Relations Authority): “Julia Clark profited from her time at the Anti-Trust Division by immediately joining an antitrust law firm upon leaving the Justice Department.”

• Patricia Smith (Solicitor for Labor Dept.): “Designed a program in NY to use community activist groups to enforce wage and hour laws…” deputizing union officials “to shake down employers that are organizing targets of the union.”

• John Sullivan (Commission for FEC): Was a longtime union counsel in election cases. According to the background, “FEC regulations already strongly favor unions compared to other entities and such concern exists about how he would push the FEC regulations as regards issues such as ‘member communications,’ a loophole that unfairly benefits unions while muzzling other entities.”

“The American people have a right to know where each of their Senators stands on the appointment of these controversial nominees,” said Wilson, adding, “Many of them are quite radical, and these conflicts of interest have not been properly vetted by Senate committees.”

“As it stands now, these 14 contentious nominees will fly through via unanimous consent, which is Harry Reid’s way of bulldozing each of the nominees through without any debate nor any vote,” Wilson said.

According to the U.S. Senate website, a unanimous consent agreement is a “unanimous consent request setting terms for the consideration of a specified bill or other measure. These agreements are usually proposed by the Majority Leader or floor manager of the measure, and reflect negotiations among Senators interested in the measure. Many are ‘time agreements,’ which limit the time available for debate and specify who will control that time. Many also permit only a list of specified amendments, or require amendments to be to the measure. Many also contain other provisions, such as empowering the Majority Leader to call up the measure at will or specifying when consideration will begin or end.”

“While Barack Obama and Harry Reid may wish that these 14 controversial appointments not be given too much attention, it is in the American people’s interests that those appointed to the public trust not have conflicts of interest, radical affiliations, or otherwise lack experience,” Wilson concluded.

Attachments:
Background on 14 Obama nominees, Americans for Limited Government, July 2009.

Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

# # #

Wilson said that “Homegrown, grassroots efforts staged in front of House members’ district offices and at town hall meetings across the nation against ObamaCare are all the more imperative as Blue Dog Democrats attempt to defend the compromise they reached this week with House leadership on the language for the health care bill.”

Wilson said local efforts in Congressional districts throughout the month of August will culminate in the August 22nd “Recess Rally,” which Americans for Limited Government is co-sponsoring.

“There are going to be boots on the ground in districts across the country, and they’re not going to be happy when the politicians return home for their August recess and try to defend this mealy-mouth ‘compromise’ reached by the Blue Dogs,” Wilson promised.

The deal reached between Blue Dog lead negotiator Congressman Mike Ross (AR-CD4) and House leaders would cut $50 billion out of a bill that Kaiser Health News reports would cost more than $1.5 trillion.

Said Wilson of the deal, “96.6 percent of a catastrophe is still a catastrophe. The government-run health care legislation still creates an unsustainable entitlement that will permanently shackle taxpayers to an insurmountable burden that can never possibly be paid back.”

The House legislation proposes to cover individuals individuals up to 400 percent of the poverty level, or making approximately $43,320 or less annually, will be eligible for some level of health coverage under the plan whether through the public “option,” Medicaid, or otherwise.

“Barack Obama has promised the impossible: expanding care to 45 million without raising costs or increasing the deficit,” said Wilson.

“An average premium goes for $4,700, bringing the total cost of the additional care to 45 million more people to roughly $211.5 billion extra annually. That money is not going to grow on trees—it’s going to come off the printing press and from overseas loans from China and Japan,” Wilson explained.

Wilson instead promoted what he called the “private option” as an alternative to the bill proposed in Congress. “We desperately need entitlement reform, not an entitlement expansion. The private option means giving all Americans the option not to participate at all in any government-sponsored plan,” said Wilson.

Wilson continued, “It means unrestrained consumer choice, unrestricted insurance companies, the removal of all insurance coverage mandates, no obligatory coverage either for employers or individuals, market-set pricing instead of government-appropriated and controlled pricing, increased competition by reducing and removing those barriers to entry for insurance companies, pharmaceuticals, and other health care institutions, and finally, entitlement reform.”

“Medical institutions are already in the red, and they will not emerge by permanently funding the health care system by a government that has expanded the national debt for every single year since 1958. That is a path to certain national insolvency,” Wilson concluded.

Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

#  #  #

“The American people should be grateful to the Blue Dogs for winning them a month,” said Wilson, “This will give constituents the time they need to visit with their representatives and let Congress know just how bad government-run socialized medicine will really be for them.”

“And once members see, hear, and live with the overwhelming opposition to the Obama plan for a month, there is no question that they will have no choice but to vote against it,” Wilson added.

According to the Hill, “In exchange for putting off a floor vote until after Labor Day, the Energy and Commerce Committee may be allowed to continue its markup of the healthcare bill this week even if an agreement has not been reached between committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and seven Energy and Commerce Blue Dogs over the content of the bill.”

Said Wilson, “The only concession the Blue Dogs made was not even much of a concession—to resume committee work on the bill, which includes their own slate of amendments that committee chair Henry Waxman has not agreed to.”

According to the Blue Dog chief negotiator Congressman Mike Ross (AR-CD4), “All I can say is that if he begins a markup without an agreement, we’re certainly prepared to move forward and offer our amendments.”

“This is a stare-down between Mike Ross and Nancy Pelosi,” Wilson said, “and Nancy Pelosi is the one who just blinked.”

This followed threats by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Energy and Commerce committee chairman to bypass the committee. Waxman had said “we are going to have to look at perhaps bypassing the committee” if no agreement could be reached with at least seven Blue Dog Democrats on the committee that to date have held up the legislation because of its high price tag, which will cost more than $1.5 trillion according to Kaiser Health News.

“This is inside baseball,” said Wilson. “Pelosi and Waxman overplayed their hand, the Blue Dogs smacked them down hard, and now the appearance of a ‘compromise’ to resume a committee markup they threatened to bypass is merely a face-saving campaign where the Blue Dogs politely agree to pretend that the Speaker is still in charge of the House on this issue, when in fact she is no longer calling the shots.”

Currently, there are 52 members of the Blue Dog Democrats in the House of Representatives, more than enough votes to defeat the proposal should they vote with the 178 member House Republican caucus.

Markup in the Energy and Commerce committee is now expected to resumed this week after several setbacks. Markup sessions were twice cancelled as Waxman sought to avoid taking up Blue Dog proposals and iron out an agreement out of committee. According to the Hill, the Blue Dogs have threatened to vote with Republicans on the committee against the bill.

“I won’t allow them to hand over control of our committee to Republicans,” Waxman had told reporters.

Wilson encouraged Blue Dogs on the committee to “gut” the bill. “The Blue Dogs have raised several legitimate concerns against the House legislation ranging from the cost to the disastrous impact upon small businesses,” said Wilson, “and the only way the American people will know that they’ve been properly addressed is if they are aired out in public hearings.”

Wilson called on Americans nationwide to visit with their representatives over the August recess. “The American people owe the Blue Dog coalition a debt of gratitude for giving them a valuable opportunity to meet with their representatives before a vote on this abomination. Now they must meet with their representatives every day and voice their opposition to this plan loudly.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

# # #

July 28th, 2009, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government president, Bill Wilson, today again called upon members of the House of Representatives to adopt a resolution (H. Res. 615) and “forgo their right to participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and agree to enroll under the same public option that they are forcing upon everyone else.”

“Congress has a long history of carving out special deals for themselves—laws that are passed, rules and regulations that are applied to American citizens that Congress has a waiver for and doesn’t have to deal with,” said the bill’s sponsor, Congressman John Fleming, in a recent interview with the Washington News Observer broadcast news service.

According to ALG’s Wilson, “This is a perfect opportunity for members of the House to show that they are willing to participate in the same labyrinthine regulations that they expect the American people to suffer under with the proposed ObamaCare abomination,” said Wilson.

“We are watching the cosponsors list very closely,” Wilson added.

The resolution currently has 61 cosponsors. According to Fleming, “There has not been a single Democrat to sign on. And we have reached out to them. We have reached out to Henry Waxman and to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. I’ve not had any takers.”

Wilson said members “are just applying the same-old Washington mantra, ‘do as I say, not as I do.”

Currently, members of the House and Senate are covered by a health care plan offering a wide variety of options, including private coverage, according to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan website, “Federal employees, retirees and their survivors enjoy the widest selection of health plans in the country.”

As participants, members of Congress can choose from “Consumer-Driven and High Deductible plans that offer catastrophic risk protection with higher deductibles, health savings/reimbursable accounts and lower premiums, or Fee-for-Service (FFS) plans, and their Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO), or Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) if you live (or sometimes if you work) within the area serviced by the plan.”

Wilson also called upon the House Energy and Commerce committee, which is still considering the legislation, to adopt a binding measure that would require all members of Congress to enroll in the government-run health insurance option if lawmakers adopt one.

“It’s time for Congress to get a taste of its own medicine,” said Wilson. “If Congress is so unwilling to sign up for the so-called public ‘option,’ then why should the American people be willing to support it at all?”

Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

# # #

According to Reuters, Waxman said “we are going to have to look at perhaps bypassing the committee” if no agreement could be reached with at least seven Blue Dog Democrats on the committee that have held up the legislation because of its high price tag, which will cost more than $1.5 trillion according to Kaiser Health News.

Those seven House Democrats signed a Blue Dog Democrat coalition letter against proposed government-run socialized medicine legislation that stated, “We do not support health care reform that is not deficit neutral.”

“Nancy Pelosi has gone completely insane,” said Wilson. “Democrats in the House should be concerned that the Botox has seeped completely into her brain. Like her forehead, the brain has stopped moving.”

Wilson said that circumventing normal procedure will cost her critical votes on the floor of the House. “Nancy Pelosi and Henry Waxman are cramming a bill through that virtually no one has seen nor read, all the while ignoring the legitimate concerns of a key segment of their caucus.”

“And to what end? To ram ObamaCare down the throats of the American people by the arbitrary August deadline. Even if Pelosi and Waxman bypass Energy and Commerce, get it to the floor for next week and get it passed by week’s end just to claim victory, it will be nothing more than a Pyrrhic victory,” Wilson declared.

Currently, there are 52 members of the Blue Dog Democrats in the House of Representatives, more than enough votes to defeat the proposal should they vote with the 178 member House Republican caucus.

Markup in the Energy and Commerce committee is expected to continue into the weekend. Yesterday, a markup session of the House Energy and Commerce committee was canceled because of opposition to the legislation by Blue Dog Democrats on the committee. And the committee also canceled a markup session on Tuesday for the same reason.

The committee had been expected to consider the proposal by the Obama Administration that, according to Politico, would “empower an outside body, like the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, to make binding recommendation for cost cuts in government-run health care programs.”

House Democrats have claimed that their proposal will cut the growth of Medicare spending by $500 billion over ten years. At Wednesday night’s news conference, Barack Obama elaborated on his plans to cut Medicare to pay for his overall plan by allowing an “independent group of doctors and medical experts” to determine how to cut the program tens of millions of seniors now depend on for medical care.

“This is the greatest demonstration of Nancy Pelosi’s weakness,” said Wilson. “This ObamaCare proposal is so bad that the Speaker of the House cannot even muster enough votes in her own party to bring the bill to the floor. And so in a hissy-fit she is simply circumventing the committee process altogether.”

“The Democrat House Leadership has lost its mind, plain and simple,” Wilson stated.

“Nancy Pelosi and Henry Waxman are telling the Blue Dogs that their legitimate concerns to slow things down and fully consider the astronomical costs of insuring ‘all Americans’ with government-run health care don’t matter. Why should they vote for the proposal now?” Wilson asked in conclusion.

Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

# # #

Congressman Parker Griffith (AL-CD5) is the first House Democrat to completely break with his leadership and with Barack Obama, and stand with the American people against the so-called public “option.”

In a letter Griffith sent to a constituent (below), he writes, “I do not favor a government-sponsored health care option. I believe that a public option would result in less consumer choice and too much government involvement in health care.”

Says ALG President Bill Wilson, “Congressman Griffith deserves the support of all Alabamans in his district, and of all Americans across the nation for opposing the monstrosity now being considered that will eliminate private health options and saddle American taxpayers with an unsustainable entitlement for decades to come.”

As developments continue to come in on the critical “ObamaCare” story, ALG News will keep you posted with timely updates.

# # #

Attached Letter:

July 21, 2009

________________
________________
_____________________

Dear __________:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me with your concerns. As your representative, I value maintaining an open dialogue with my constituents, especially on issues as important as health care.

As you know, the question of how to improve our health care system has divided lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. As a physician who spent 30 years treating patients from across North Alabama, I have a different perspective on this issue than others in Congress. I am concerned that the current health care legislation falls short of meeting its goals of reducing costs, increasing access, and protecting a patient’s right to choose. Because this piece of legislation would have such a large and lasting impact on our nation, I want to make my position on this issue clear.

Our first priority is to make sure that we do nothing to harm our current system. We have the best health care system in the world, but we must reduce costs and increase access to the system. To meet these challenges, we must encourage greater competition in the health care market. One of the best ways to do this is by allowing individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines and by requiring providers to cover pre-existing conditions. While I believe it is necessary to increase competition in the health care market, I do not favor a government-sponsored health care option. I believe that a public option would result in less consumer choice and too much government involvement in health care.

Along with increasing competition in the health care market, any effective and sustainable reform must also be carried out in a fiscally responsible manner. As a fiscally conservative member of the Blue Dog Coalition, I am committed to supporting reform that takes into account our growing deficit. Expanding access to health care is vital, but we must not do so at the expense of our children’s and grandchildren’s futures.

One of my main priorities during the health care debate is to encourage Congress to take a thoughtful and bipartisan approach to reform. Wide-sweeping reform cannot be passed overnight. All our options must be carefully considered before finally settling on a package that is in our nation’s best interest. To encourage this type of approach, I recently introduced legislation, H. Res. 643, which requires any major reform bill to be available to the public and Members of Congress at least a week prior to the final vote on the bill.

As the debate over health care reform continues, the key for Congress and the American people is to remain focused on health care reform’s primary goal: improving our current system of care while also saving families, small businesses and the government much-needed money. Again, I appreciate your input on this issue. For more information on the health care debate, I encourage you to visit my website at http://griffith.house.gov where you can view daily news updates regarding health care reform as well as read my health care principles and correspondence with other constituents on this issue.

Sincerely,

Parker Griffith
Member of Congress