Ken Blackwell has a fantastic column this week about health care, and Rush Limbaugh picked up on it:

From Joe Hallett’s column today in The Dispatch:

About five years ago, Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell tried to change the Senate’s nearly century-old filibuster rules.

Back then, Republicans held a majority in the Senate, and they cringed at threats by the Democratic minority to block President George W. Bush’s appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court by using the endless debating procedure.

But if McConnell had succeeded, Senate Republicans might not have use of the filibuster now to block President Barack Obama’s health-care plan.

“God, that was a dumb idea,” McConnell said, chuckling, during a recent interview with The Washington Post.

He and other Republicans can thank, in part, former Sen. Mike DeWine for preserving the filibuster and ensuring that Bush’s conservative nominees to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, won confirmation.

DeWine, who had a reputation for working across the aisle to get things done, had joined six other Republicans and seven Democrats to form the so-called “Gang of 14.”

Their compromise made it more difficult for the Senate to kill judicial nominations by using the filibuster. Conservatives were disappointed, because they wanted the Senate’s GOP majority back then to use their muscle to change the rules and confirm their favorite judges by simple majority rather than the 60 votes required to overcome a filibuster.

Had conservatives gotten their wish, Senate Republicans now would be unable to stop Obama’s agenda, including the “Obamacare” they dread so much. But rather than hail DeWine for preserving the filibuster and ensuring that Roberts and Alito were confirmed, many on the far right vilify him for being a turncoat.

Why is Hallett writing about this? What made him take a break from supporting higher taxes and regurgitating stale political news? I know he can’t stand conservatives, but this discussion feels contrived, as if DeWine’s campaign should list it as an in-kind contribution for free newspaper advertising. It also mirrors what DeWine says during county GOP endorsement meetings.

First of all, both the House and the Senate passed health care bills. Until the election of Sen. Brown (the better of the two Browns), Democrats had a filibuster-proof majority. Republicans were helpless, and only DEMOCRATS were standing in the way of the Obama agenda. In fact, they could still easily pass socialized health care now, using reconciliation and a simple majority. (Some Ohio Congressional Democrats, such as Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy and Sherrod Brown, are pushing hard for this strategy.)

And secondly, though the filibuster is extra-constitutional and has a checkered history, I support it because, as a conservative, I’m a big fan of gridlock and stalling legislation in general. America is a republic (not a democracy), and as more power is consolidated with the federal government, having extra protections against the “tyranny of the majority” is healthy.

However, the problem during the Bush administration was a question of the Appointments Clause (Article II, Section 2), which calls for a simple majority vote for the Senate to “advise and consent” on judicial appointments. Not all uses of the filibuster raises this same sort of serious constitutional conflict about the number of votes needed to do something.

As the battle raged on over President Bush’s judicial nominees, litigation could have been filed to force the Senate Majority to respect Article II, section 2…. Or there could have been debate over changing the Senate rules just for when filibusters conflict with the legitimate rights of the executive branch.

However, then-Sen. Mike DeWine was in no mood for a tough political fight, and instead joined the “Gang of 14″ to avoid this issue entirely. And as he explained to Republican State Central Committee member John Becker last week:

During the “Gang of 14″ discussion, I asked him about Miguel Estrada, Charles Pickering, Carolyn Kuhl, and Fourth Circuit Court nominee Terrence Boyle. [DeWine] defended and explained his position. Although he firmly believes that he did the right thing, he confessed that a number of nominees “got thrown under the bus.”

Translation: Brilliant legal minds (listed above) were prevented from becoming federal judges because DeWine and the other 13 prevented Republicans from starting a political fight in which the Constitution was squarely on their side.

We have no idea how horrible our lives may have been if DeWine was never born. But we know for certain that DeWine’s compromise stopped a number of conservatives from accepting appointments that they were more than qualified for.

But now, Mike DeWine gets to look back fondly on his weak-kneed strategy and claim he stopped ObamaCare years before President Obama even took office?

If you say so, Mike.

From Ohio Right to Life:

Poll: 52 Percent of Ohio Voters Oppose Health Care Plan

Sen. Sherrod Brown on Hot Seat Because of Vote

COLUMBUS – A majority of Ohio registered voters oppose the current health care reform plan under consideration in Congress, according to an Ohio Right to Life Society poll released today. Also, the survey found significant dissatisfaction with Sen. Sherrod Brown resulting from his vote in favor of a health care reform bill that included tax dollar funding for abortions. The poll in its entirety can be read HERE.

The Wenzel Strategies telephone survey of 1001 Ohio registered voters found 52 percent of respondents oppose the national health care reform plan currently moving through Congress. Sixty-five percent of respondents oppose provisions for taxpayer funding of abortions included in any reform package.

U.S. Sen. Brown should find little comfort in the survey’s results as 54 percent of respondents said they are less likely to vote for him because of his vote in favor of a health care reform bill that included abortion funding.

Ohio Right to Life will travel to Washington, D.C. this Friday and present its findings to members of the Ohio Congressional Delegation as part of the March for Life 2010 event.

“Our polling has consistently found that Ohioans don’t want their tax dollars funding abortions,” said Ohio Right to Life Executive Director Mike Gonidakis. “The fact that Congressional leaders are trying to force taxpayer-funded abortions through with the highly controversial health care bill should give members of the Ohio delegation great pause. We hope they will do the right thing.”

Following are the survey questions and summary findings:

Question 1: In general, do you favor or oppose the health care reform plan under consideration by President Obama and Congressional leaders?

Strongly Favor 21.1 %
Somewhat Favor 18.6%
Somewhat Oppose 7.9%
Strongly Oppose 44.1%
Not Sure 8.4%

Question 2: Do you think that health insurance that is paid for or subsidized by taxpayer money should include coverage for abortions, or should abortions be excluded from coverage in such situations?

Should Cover 22.1%
Should Not Cover 65.0%
Not Sure 12.9%

Question 3: If you knew that Ohio U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown voted in favor of using taxpayer money to pay for abortion coverage in the National Health Care bill, would that fact make you more likely to vote for him, less likely to vote for him, or would it make no difference?

More Likely 15.4%
Less Likely 54.4%
No Difference 30.2%

This is probably for the best… After all, with the election in Massachusetts, two years with two Browns in the US Senate will be too confusing.

But I continue to worry about this 1-issue focus (abortion), as the entire damn bill- with its rationing and death panels- is anti-life. And as we saw with the House version of the legislation, the issue of abortion was used to pass the bill.

Trade-offs are such a bummer, dude:

Update: Daily Kossers are checking out this site. In the words of Markos Moulitsas Zúñiga, “screw them.” (Except this guy. That’s actually quite funny.)

Am processing video… nothing too exciting. Ran into Eric from Plunderbund, who I was going to talk to until he shoved a camera in my face. oh well. He is just at typical pot-smoking marxist thug. He is also in a very unhappy marriage, so I suppose venting by harassing harassing me is cheaper than going to a psychologist. But I’ll save this sort of uninteresting blogger vs. blogger stuff for Buckeye State Blog.

I missed Connie Schultz by a few minutes minutes! I asked Rep. Ted Celeste where she was, and apparently I was standing EXACTLY where she was standing before she left with Senator Sherrod Brown. so close! The spot still smelled from her lack of deodorant… which might have actually been the stench of self-righteous, maternalistic liberalism.

And I met the lovely SoS Jennifer Brunner with her husband who could easily pass as a conservative with his fashionable bow tie.  I tried to schedule an interview with her. She apparently has read this blog and therefore knows of my interview with Ohio AG Rich Cordray. Jennifer has reached out to the almost non-existent liberal Ohio blogosphere, so why not talk to a nice guy like me? If she does, I promise to reconsider my reservations about women’s suffrage.

I had some great lines and jokes for the Huffington Post reporter who spotted me, so I’m curious to see what she writes, if anything.

Progress Ohio is doing another one of their astroturf jobs for ObamaCare. This time, it is in memory of the womanizing murderer Ted Kennedy- This Tuesday, at the Lausche building at the Ohio Expo Center – Ohio State Fairgrounds, 717 E. 17th Ave., Columbus, OH 43211. More details are posted here. The guest list includes:

Senator Sherrod Brown, Representative Mary Jo Kilroy, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Ohio AFL-CIO President Joe Rugola, SEIU nurse Barb Montgomery, US Action President William McNary, Ohio Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher, and Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman

Nice to see Mary Jo Kilroy at a real event, instead of her silly, staged tele-townhall. And I have multiple accounts of how drunk Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman was during his speech at the opening of Lance Armstrong’s Pelotonia fund raising bike race to Athens over the weekend, so perhaps that was Mike’s early tribute to Teddy.

she was apparently comparing opponents of ObamaCare to rats.

First I picked on Mrs. Sherrod Brown, and now it is Rush’s turn:

During a Cleveland.com webchat, it was noted that roughly 30,000 people read Connie’s column. (I’m not sure how they know who reads and who uses it to wrap fish in.). At that rate, even though they are roughly the same 30,000 each time, this one appearance reached more people than read her weekly column in an entire year. And her 1 appearance on on the low-rated MSNBC just reached more than ten times the people who watched the original broadcast.

The “I Hate Connie Schultz” club is growing exponentially!

(Update: Apparently, people who are my age and younger haven’t spent much time watching old episodes of Saturday Night Live. My apologies to anyone who didn’t understand the reference. Apparently, my lame jokes are best understood by men who are at least 50 years old.)

Connie Schultz was in this segment on state-controlled MSNBC tonight. Feel free to scroll pass more than 3 minutes of attitudinal, leftist ideological comfort-food before her segment:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I especially enjoyed how Schultz was essentially defending her husband’s shameless use of human tragedies as stage props, as emotionally hysterical women are more memorable than facts and flow-charts. (Funny, because when I think of crying women, I am inclined to think of the ex-wife that Senator Brown used to abuse.)

The thesis of Schultz’ argument is “Trust your government. Trust my husband. They will take care of you. In loco Parentis.” And if it wasn’t clear before, it is now certain that Mrs. Schultz will not rest until everyone must plea with her husband’s office to for surgeries and treatments that might not be “approved.”

And “neighbors helping neighbors” is meaningless to Connie Schultz, as liberals like her are not exactly known for their uncoerced generosity.

And how are conservatives using fear? We are simply concerned about government taking over 15% of the private economy, and the inherent reduction in the quality of service that this sort of centralized-system leads to. In Connie’s view, is it always fear-mongering to be skeptical of government?

Instead, the only use of fear is by Connie and President Obama, who say we are in a “health care crisis!!” and yet are willing to completely scrap the “public option” for political reasons. And because lefties, using the Saul Alinsky model, thrive on fear and chaos, she did not hesitate to mention threatening phone calls from crazies or Democrat-LaRouchites comparing President Obama to Adolph Hitler.

Also, the Politifact.com she mentions has been known to show bias. Schultz didn’t mention non-partisan FactCheck.org, which showed that ObamaCare will pay for abortions and it that absoutely isn’t true that everyone gets to keep their insurance under this plan.

Without the costs of ObamaCare included, the US deficit is now anywhere between $9 trillion and $14 trillion. I’m not quite sure how to picture those numbers, but if it helps- light travels roughly six trillion miles per year.

I really hate Connie Schultz.

I certainly give him credit, and Driehaus is one of the so-called “blue dogs” who aren’t entirely comfortable with government taking over 15% of the economy, but I can’t imagine this event turning out well…

From the Enquirer:

After the chairman of the Hamilton County Republicans accused him of being “fearful” of open forums on health care reform, Rep. Steve Driehaus accepted the GOP’s invitation to discuss the subject at a Green Township Republican Club meeting next month.
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“I accept gladly,” the West Price Hill Democrat said Friday morning, responding to the challenge from Hamilton County Republican chairman Alex Triantafilou. “If the chairman thinks I am trying to hide from the public on this issue, I’m doing a pretty poor job of it.”

Triantafilou’s criticism of Driehaus and his invitation to speak to Green Township Republicans came Thursday after the Enquirer reported that a meeting featuring Driehaus organized by the Green Township Democratic Club for next Wednesday night at Nathanael Greene Lodge had been turned into a ticket-only affair.[...]

The meeting, Traintafilou said, “will be respectful and civil. There will be none of this shouting and nonsense. But there will be some tough questions asked.”

This is from the same organization which was responsible for packing Sherrod Brown’s sham town hall at OSU with union goons and leftist crazies. Who wants to go?

Join us for a candlelight vigil and peaceful procession from one downtown Columbus church to another as we “Shine Our Light on Health Care.”

This event will be an opportunity to reflect on the spiritual roots of our work to support health care reform – highlighting the moral aspects of the issue, and remembering the real-life consequences of our broken health care system. We will demonstrate the depth and breadth of public support for a health care future that includes everyone and works well for all of us.

WHAT: LIGHT ONE CANDLE FOR HEALTH CARE

WHEN: Sunday, August 23, 8:30 PM – 10 PM

WHERE: Meet at First Congregational Church, 444 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215

PROCESSION ROUTE: After short remarks, prayer, and candlelighting at First Congregational, we will proceed westward on Broad St., south along Third St., ending at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 404 S. 3rd. St. for wrapup remarks and closing prayer.

CLERGY: Reverend Tim Ahrens of First Congregational Church, Reverend Denise Edwards of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church

If the route is too long for you, please consider joining us for the distance you are able. Organized processions from additional starting points are very much welcome!

We will provide candles, but please bring extras to share if you have them.

Godless Brian Rothenberg, President and Chief Thug of Progress Ohio, sent me an advance copy of his prayer:

Let us bow our heads.

We address this generic meditation and non-judgmental prostration to whom it may concern.

In the beginning was the Flesh. And the Flesh became the Logos.

We reject death, and lust for life. We wallow in despair and reject the ChristoFascists’ natural law, while fornicating endlessly with all available bodily orifices and inanimate objects.

Our Secular Savior, Barack Hussein Obama, will alleviate us from the toils of working in your world of scarce resources. And as we transition to this green utopia, give us the strength to loot and cannibalize older generations of capitalist scum. Oh yes, we can.

Obama is my shepherd, I shall not want.

And he will RAISE US UP! RAISE US UP! RAISE US UP!!

Please take away our daily bread, as we raise our taxes.

And lead us not into prosperity.

But deliver us from self-reliance.

With liberty and abortions for all.

Ken Blackwell notes that taxpayer funded abortion is one more reason why ObamaCare will not pass.

Kathleen Sebelius, before a $2400/plate fundraiser with Rep. Kilroy, will apparently be at OSU Medical Center to discuss health care tomorrow. She is the the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary AND the daughter of the Governor who created the Ohio income tax.

Does anyone have details on this? Will it be in the same room that Sherrod Brown held his sham town hall in?

According to a friend, OSU Med Center’s Jerry Friedman was once an ultra-left student body president at OSU, which is probably why these lefty Democrats are so comfortable organizing campaign events town halls with him.

Kevin O’Brien continues to do the Lord’s work by preaching sanity, promoting reasonableness, and “bearing false witness” at the Schultz Gazette.

The callers who were supportive of ObamaCare got to talk to Rep. Kilroy:

But Kilroy, D-Columbus, asserted that any reform plan should include a federal insurance program that would compete with private insurers, saying that “a public option in competition with private insurance can reduce costs for all of us.”

“If you have insurance right now, you shouldn’t worry about a public option,” she said.

During the one-hour conference call, Kilroy answered questions from 17 people. Aides to Kilroy said about 2,800 people were listening in.

The questions were all polite. Kilroy staffers screened the calls before questions were asked.

And those who had sincere concerns that a “public option” is simply a way to kill off private insurance were immediately placed on a terrorist watch list.

My friend Alex Tornero wrote, produced, and directed this ad. It is so good that I had to share:

This is the message which will “pull the plug” on ObamaCare.

Fannie Med

Zach Lahn of the University of Colorado asks ObamaCare’s public option, and to show private businesses can compete against government services he uses UPS and FedEx as an example: