Many of us will be headed to Atlanta today for our first RedState Gathering.

Tonight, we’ll hear from Roy Blunt, Pat Toomey, Jim DeMint, and Rick Perry. Then we’ll watch a special presentation of John Ziegler’s new movie.

Tomorrow, Tom Price, Karen Handel, a super secret special guest, Ken Cuccinelli, Michael Williams, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Nikki Haley join us.

We’re also going to do two workshops. One will be on becoming better online activists and the other on being better offline activists.

250 activists from across the country will be coming. And we’re already planning for next year.

Registration is closed for this year, but you may want to start planning for next year. Same weekend. Same place. Even better.

That headline was originally used by Republicans on the Hill, but it is accurate in every way.

The Democrats are working toward some “unintended consequences” that are very, very obvious and the effects are going to be disastrous for our economy.

As the House Republican Conference notes,

Press reports indicate that Finance Committee negotiators may require employers that do not offer coverage to pay for half of the cost of any Medicaid beneficiaries employed by the firm, as well as the full cost of any “low-income” subsidies for individuals with income up to three times the federal poverty level ($66,150 for a family of four).

Groups from the Heritage Foundation to the liberal Center for Budget and Policy Priorities have criticized the Finance Committee proposal, which could in practice lead to hiring discrimination against low-wage workers. For instance, a single mother would prove much less attractive to an employer from a financial perspective than a college-age student from a wealthy family—the former would cost the firm additional money in “fair share” contributions, while the latter would not.

In many cases, the cost of the “fair share” penalty may actually exceed the “pay-or-play” tax on businesses proposed in the House legislation. For instance, under the House bill (H.R. 3200) an employer who cannot afford to offer health coverage would pay $1,664 in tax penalties per year for a full-time worker making $10 per hour. If that employer were subjected to a “fair share” contribution equaling even half of the cost of insurance subsidies in the Exchange, the tax on that business would be significantly higher—as average subsidy amounts would total nearly $5,000 per year under most legislative proposals being considered. A “fair share” penalty of $2,500 would serve as a further disincentive to hire low-wage workers, as employers would be hit with high tax penalties on only a certain segment of the targeted workforce—individuals from poorer backgrounds.

As the liberal Center for Budget and Policy Priorities noted, “the [“fair share”] proposal also could discourage the hiring of low-income people with disabilities who have no choice but to enroll in Medicaid” in order to obtain proper treatment for their disabilities.

All of this is obvious to people who’ve run businesses. But then the Democrats drafting this stuff wouldn’t know anything about that.

REDSTATE MORNING BRIEFING
FOR JULY 31, 2009

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I have an endearing soft spot for Lamar! Alexander. Having grown up overseas, I was never familiar with guns. In college, while he was campaigning for President, Lamar! came through Georgia on the campaign trail. I got to go with him to a skeet shooting event. It was my first time sheet shooting. I did horribly. But Lamar taught me how to hold, load, and handle a shot gun.

Sometimes we have to smack down our friends who wander off the reservation. I always hate knocking Lamar!, but lately he’s been deserving of several fists of conservative anger to the face.

I did so last week when Lamar! played lapdog to Barbara Boxer and co-sponsored legislation that would clearly support taxpayer funded abortion.

Hogan rightly knocks him again today for going all Lindsey on us and supporting Sotomayor.

I guess he heard about the other Lindsay showing up on the doorstep of her lesbian lover, having a breakdown, and ol’ Lamar! got confused and decided to stick up for Graham.

The taxpayer funded abortion issue, playing lapdog to Barbara Boxer, and supporting Sotomayor are inexcusable for the third ranking Republican in the Senate.

Just as inexcusable is Lamar! siding with Democrats to destroy the coal mining industry.

Alexander has introduced legislation with Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) to ban the controversial practice of mountaintop-removal coal mining. He said he hopes to stop the shearing of mountaintops in West Virginia and Kentucky and prevent a resurgence of the practice in Tennessee, which has relatively little mining but was the site of mountaintop removal in decades past.

This move will severely impact coal production, raise energy prices for consumers, and put many people out of work. It will also increase our consumption on foreign energy — something Lamar! says he opposes, but so far is doing nothing about.

Lamar! says he wants to offset this with more nuclear energy, but his allies on the coal mining issue have no interest in that. Undeterred, Lamar! has decided to shut down the industry, put people out of work, and jack up energy costs for you and me.

With Republicans like Lamar!, who needs the Democrats?

When you are calling Congressmen today, and you can get your Congressman’s name by going to http://www.redstate.com/action, keep in mind that these are the four Blue Dog Democrats who decided to cut a deal with the liberals in the House of Representatives.

These four men need to be called by every single freedom loving person in their districts.

Bart Gordon(TN) at 202-225-4231

Zack Space (OH) at 202-225-6265

Baron Hill (IN) at 202-225-5315

Mike Ross (AR) at 202-225-3772

REDSTATE MORNING BRIEFING
FOR JULY 30, 2009

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Turns out the decision to drop the case went all the way up to the number 3 man at the Justice Department — Thomas J. Perrelli.

Mr. Perrelli was a Janet Reno flunky when Clinton was in the White House and, naturally, a Barack Obama donor.

In this particular case, the career lawyers at the Department of Justice pursued the matter, made all the calls, got a court judgment when the Black Panthers refused to show up, then the Department of Justice’s political appointees told the career guys to drop the whole case.

I’ve said for a long time now that the fixation on Barack Obama’s birth certificate is a distraction.

I think Barack Obama is a natural born American citizen because his mother was indisputably an American citizen. I think he meets the residency requirements. And I think that Justice Scalia himself would not throw the President out of office now that he has been sworn in.

The issue is moot.

Fixating on it now is wasting time, precious time, when there are other issues on which those with time on their hands can fixate.

Barack Obama not releasing his birth certificate fits a pattern of non-disclosure from the man.

Most notoriously, Barack Obama allowed is campaign to accept foreign donations, a matter that got passing mention from the Washington Post and not much else.

I’d be curious to see how many muslims from Indonesia gave to the man they consider a hometown hero.

Faced with a huge influx of donations over the Internet, the campaign has also chosen not to use basic security measures to prevent potentially illegal or anonymous contributions from flowing into its accounts, aides acknowledged. Instead, the campaign is scrutinizing its books for improper donations after the money has been deposited.

We know, by the way, that the scrutinizing failed.

When asked whether the campaign takes steps to verify whether a donor’s name matches the name on the credit card used to make a payment, Obama’s campaign replied in an e-mail: “Name-matching is not a standard check conducted or made available in the credit card processing industry. We believe Visa and MasterCard do not even have the ability to do this.”

But there is more.

Take this list from a emailer:

Punahou school records
Occidental College records
Columbia University records
Columbia thesis
Harvard Law School records
Harvard Law Review articles
scholarly articles from the University of Chicago
passport
medical records
files from his years as an Illinois state senator
Illinois State Bar Association records
baptism records, if any
adoption records

You and I know that the press would never let a Republican get away with any of that. Look at the scrutiny upon scrutiny the press subjected Sarah Palin to. There are plenty of records out there we could be focusing on — and frankly they are records that could do far more damage to Barack Obama politically.

The presumption will always be that Barack Obama is a citizen, whether or not birthers like it. That’s a fact, however much some may not like it. More troubling, there are those who can be presented with all the facts that are in evidence and still not be convinced. This would be the most elaborate conspiracy ever perpetrated and I don’t buy it.

The energy of those who are fixated on the birth certificate would be far better focused on the list above. Barack Obama is secretive. The most open administration is, in fact, the most closed. Nonetheless, holes can be poked into the administration and into Obama’s record, letting in light.

But please, spare me any more on the birth certificate. What may have been legitimate was, once he was sworn in, rendered moot. And the fixation risks taking activists off the front lines of the fight for freedom down a rabbit hole of distraction.

From a Senate source to me:

A Senate page has swine flu. Because of this, votes may be canceled on Friday (convenient) and if an outbreak is declared they will shut down the whole complex.

CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN RIGHT NOW.

Democrats will meet in committee in one hour to begin marking up healthcare legislation. They’ve cut a deal with the Blue Dog Democrats.

Go here and get the number for your Congressman. Call now.

Tell him to oppose H.R. 3200.

Head’s up: there is a rumor circulating in the House of Representatives that enough Blue Dogs have caved on health care for Nancy Pelosi to get the bill to the floor this week. The memo to Republicans assuring them there’d be no vote could have been a ruse to turn down constituent heat enough.

Democrats are growing fearful that August recess will turn the Blue Dogs cold and want something out by Friday.

It appears they may have the votes to do that.

CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN RIGHT NOW.

Go here and get the number. Call now.

Tomorrow, the United States Senate’s Homeland Security Committee just might vote Tara O’Toole out of committee and send her to the floor for confirmation.

The committee may want to look again. Nominated by Janet Napolitano, there is a late breaking disparity in Ms. O’Toole’s testimony — disparate enough to suggest she is hiding some very close times to John Murtha. And the tangled web of lobbyists, high dollars, and corruption just might infiltrate the Department of Homeland Security.

Ms. O’Toole is the head of the very well respected Center for Biosecurity. According to written testimony to the United States Senate on June 10, 2009, in response to a question about ties between Ms. O’Toole’s Center for Biosecurity and a group called the Alliance for Biosecurity, Ms. O’Toole told the Senate

the Alliance for Biosecurity [is] a group initiated by the Center for Biosecurity in 2006. . . . The Center for Biosecurity receives no money from any member of the Alliance and funds all costs associated with running the Alliance out of our philanthropic funds. No biotech or pharmaceutical firm provides the Center with financial support of any kind.

Odd, in new written testimony to the Senate — testimony not even fully publicly available — Ms. O’Toole now claims there are no “financial connections” between the Center for Biosecurity and the Alliance for Biosecurity. In fact, Ms. O’Toole now disavows all connections between the Center and Alliance.

Why?

Well, let’s follow the money.

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Michelle Malkin has done it again — another best seller. Her new book Culture of Corruption is soaring to #1 on the best sellers lists and it’s no secret why — it is a devastating blow to Barack Obama and, unlike the reality based community, is actually based on real facts.

Naturally, the leftist horde has assembled to attack her and seek to discredit her. No, they are not seeking to discredit her book, but her personally. That’s natural. Michelle did a hell of a job documenting everything she says with lots and lots of notes.

Her book is particularly timely because of the healthcare debate. In the book, she documents how Barry O’s wife got a job via earmarks at the University of Chicago’s hospital and then administered a program engaged in patient dumping.

The high-paying “community affairs” post was another make-work job no one else at the university needed to do until Michelle Obama came along. And it was a job no one else needed to fill after she left. In January 2009, Mrs. Obama’s indispensable job was eliminated as part of a massive restructuring to cut annual budget costs by 7 percent. . . . Unfortunately for many of Chicago’s poor, Mrs. Obama didn’t depart until after she helped engineer a rather un-progressive and unkind plan to dump low-income patients with non-urgent complaints from the medical center.

It’s all there and all documented. It’s also a number one best seller. It’s available right here.

Oh, and full disclosure, Regnery Publishing, which is also owned by RedState’s Beltway Overlords, published the book. That just means I got a free copy to review.

Greg Sargent, a leftist hack who now pretends to be an objective journalist, has never been able to help himself.

Those who follow his writings at the Plum Line, where he blogs, and on Twitter, can see for themselves that he is nothing but a leftist hack with a few posts thrown in for good measure to keep up appearances.

Take today. Sargent decided to go after me and other bloggers for pointing out that the Democrats’ healthcare legislation refers to the mentally disabled as “retarded.”

It does. And Sargent does not dispute that.

What Sargent says is that rightwing bloggers like me are grasping at straws because

The phrase in question — “intermediate-care facility for the mentally retarded” — is official, long-standing terminology that’s used in Federal regulations to define certain types of facilities.

In other words, Sargent, like the Democrats are perfectly happy to call people retarded. In legislation that totally reworks the entire American healthcare system, you’d think Democrats would insert a provision changing the terminology across the board.

But they did not. They could have. Since they didn’t, Sargent carries their water for them. Guess he won’t mind me pointing out his defense, like the legislation, is retarded. I mean, he’s okay with government calling people that.

We know that most of the Blue Dogs are going to oppose healthcare. But what about the non-Blue Dog Democrats who live in districts McCain won? They seem to be good targets in addition to the Blue Dogs.

So here’s the list of targets for today. As the week progresses, we’re going to update, add to, and subtract from it. Start calling. And if your Congressman is not on the list, go here and find your Congressman. Start calling now.

Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-1) http://kirkpatrick.house.gov/
(202) 225-2315

Vic Snyder (AR-2) http://www.house.gov/snyder/
202-225-2506

Betsy Markey (CO-4) http://betsymarkey.house.gov/
202-225-4676

Suzanne Kosmas (FL-24) http://www.kosmas.house.gov/
202-225-2706

Ike Skelton (MO-4) http://www.house.gov/skelton/
202-225-2876

Harry Teague (NM-2) http://teague.house.gov/
202-225-2365

Michael McMahon (NY-13) http://mcmahon.house.gov/
202-225-3371

Eric Massa (NY-29) http://massa.house.gov/
202-225-3161

John Boccieri (OH-16) http://boccieri.house.gov/
202-225-3876

John M. Spratt Jr. (SC-5) http://www.house.gov/spratt/
202-225-5501

Chet Edwards (TX-17) http://edwards.house.gov/
202-225-6105

Tom Perriello (VA-5) http://perriello.house.gov/
202-225-4711

Rick Boucher (VA-9) http://www.boucher.house.gov/
202-225-3861

Alan B. Mollohan (WV-1) http://mollohan.house.gov/
202-225-4172

Nick J. Rahall Jr. (WV-3) http://www.rahall.house.gov/
202-225-3452

My friend Jason Pye has video of Ben Bernanke up explaining why the Federal Reserve should not be audited.

Bernanke’s comments are filled with red herrings. The legislation would not, despite his claims, allow Congress to take over the Fed or cause it to lose independence.

I was not sure I supported the legislation until I heard Bernanke and others say they should not be audited. It always makes me suspicious when bureaucrats think they are above oversight.

To be sure, there are risks along the way. I suspect we will all be troubled by the findings of a Fed audit. Some members of Congress will want to take over the Fed. It’d be disastrous for Congress to start setting interest rates, etc.

But that does not mean the Fed is beyond scrutiny. Congress should find an outside, competent auditor who can do the job.

Lastly, how dare the Fed suggest this legislation would mean it is surrendering its independence. We know from the bailouts that the Fed has served as an extension of the Treasury Department since mid-2008 and remains a useful pawn of the Treasury Department.

The Federal Reserve itself gave up its own independence and we should not make sure it is not surrendering the nation’s through fiscal recklessness.

We were calling district offices yesterday. Today, go here to find the Washington office number of your Congressman.

Call him and tell him to vote no on H.R. 3200, the Democrats’ atrocious healthcare bill.

This is your must read article on healthcare. According to Fortune magazine, there are five freedoms that you have now that the Democrats in Congress intend to take away from you. These are in the actual legislation.

1. Freedom to choose what’s in your plan
2. Freedom to be rewarded for healthy living, or pay your real costs
3. Freedom to choose high-deductible coverage
4. Freedom to keep your existing plan
5. Freedom to choose your doctors

Call your Congressman. Tell him to vote no on H.R. 3200, the Democrats’ healthcare legislation.

The Mayo Clinic, a organization Barack Obama has praised, is opposed to the healthcare plan. They’ve actually studied up on it, unlike members of Congress who refuse to read it.

Although there are some positive provisions in the current House Tri-Committee bill – including insurance for all and payment reform demonstration projects – the proposed legislation misses the opportunity to help create higher-quality, more affordable health care for patients. In fact, it will do the opposite.

Another point of interest is that Democrats refer to the mentally disabled in the legislation as “retarded.”

Nice.

Nancy Pelosi intends to push H.R. 3200, the Democrats’ plan to socialize American healthcare, to the floor this week for votes.

We must bring every ounce of possible pressure to bear on members of Congress this week.

I’ve made it easy. Go here to get your Congressman’s district office phone number.

Call and demand that your congressman vote no on H.R. 3200, the Democrats’ healthcare legislation.

We can stop this through concerted, constant action and pressure.

Call now. Remember congressional offices are only open during normal business hours. If you don’t get someone on the phone today, call tomorrow.