July 7th, 2010, Washington, DC–From ALG News’ Capitol Hill Correspondent Derek Baker: 
In the Senate, there is much rumor and speculation over the special election process to fill the late-Sen. Robert Byrd’s Senate seat these days. According to state law, the election will be held in 2012, but many West Virginia insiders are pushing to change the law to allow a November 2010 election. Gov. Joe Manchin has been relatively quiet about his intentions, but is expected to make an announcement regarding the succession process today at 11 a.m. Manchin is said to be interested in the seat himself, and the West Virginia AFL-CIO even called on Manchin to appoint himself to the vacancy, but Manchin has already ruled out this option.
Bottom Line: Democrats desperately need every vote they can get in the contentious Senate right now, so Manchin is likely to fill the vacancy in the very near future. The question is how Manchin can optimally orchestrate the process to best suit his own designs on the seat, while avoiding the scenario of appointing someone that will neither want to keep the seat or prove to be an embarrassment.
In the House, while Pelosi and House Democrats continue their attempts to sell ObamaCare to a wary public, Republicans intend to make jobs and the economy their major focus going into the fall campaign and beyond. Democrat leaders are said to be focusing on a few recent polls that suggest Americans may be gradually viewing the healthcare overhaul bill in a more positive light, though Republicans are quite to note that a recent Rasmussen survey found that over 60 percent of Americans still favor repeal of ObamaCare. What occurs of this short recess and the six-week August break will provide a clearer indication of what messages resonate with the majority of Americans.
In related news, the Wall Street Journal ran a story today entitled “The Massachusetts HealthCare ‘Train Wreck’” which details a number of serious problems with the state healthcare reform law that Gov. Mitt Romney implemented in 2006. The article reports that “five major state insurers have so far collectively lost $116 million due to the rate cap” imposed by the MA health law. The Massachusetts law has largely been seen as the model for ObamaCare, and Obama himself stated earlier this year that his healthcare plan was “essentially identical” to the Massachusetts universal coverage plan.
Bottom Line: The more Pelosi and the Democrats attempt to tout ObamaCare and Wall Street reform in their districts, the more they underscore to the American voter that they need to be fired. From weekly economic news to the latest polls, the message from the vast majority of Americans is focus on creating sustainable jobs and reviving the economy! Since Democrats simply do not know what else to do on this front (ahem – reduce spending, cut taxes), they simply (attempt to) change the subject. The American people get it. It’s not going to work.
At the other end of the Avenue, White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer stated in a blog post yesterday that Obama is planning install Dr. Donald Berwick as the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) through a recess appointment. This move is certain to infuriate Republican lawmakers, since Berwick was seen as highly controversial due to his overt praise of the Europe healthcare model and what many view as healthcare rationing. Pfeiffer stated in part, “Many Republicans in Congress have made it clear in recent weeks that they were going to stall the nomination as long as they could, solely to score political points.”
Several GOP senators immediately criticized Obama’s move to bypass the Senate confirmation process. Sen. Pat Roberts stated “Once again, the Obama Administration is going behind closed doors out of fear the American people will learn that Dr. Berwick plans to use rationing as a cost cutting tool to achieve billions of dollars in cuts in Medicare called for in the health care reform bill.” Though CMS has been without a permanent administrator since 2006, Obama did not nominate Berwick until April of this year.
Also, as widely expected, Obama’s Justice Department filed suit yesterday against the new Arizona immigration law and will argue that it is unconstitutional. The Arizona law enjoys broad support among Americans and over 60 percent of Arizonans support it. While Obama continues his push for national “comprehensive immigration reform,” his lawsuit threatens to mobilize those that support strong border security and enforcement policies. This will likely make a difficult re-election cycle for Arizona House Democrats even tougher. Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) stated “There is a perception that the president is not only out of touch but really asleep at the wheel.”
Bottom Line: Obama believes he has shrewdly avoiding a repeat on the Berwick nomination of this year’s fight over ObamaCare. He may be right, since the scorn to be heaped on him in the comings days for the recess appointment still will not rise to the level of attention that Senate hearings would have on the socialist friendly Berwick. Still, Obama and the Democrats are continuing to bet the farm that forcing through ObamaCare will pay dividends come November. Unless the economy improves, no other issue will resonate with a frustrated electorate.
Kagan’s Commerce Clause
Can Congress regulate what we must eat, and when we must eat it?
Earth to NASA
Obama’s foreign policy may be in outer space.
The EPA is no Friend to America
Why is the EPA blocking oil cleanup efforts in the Gulf?
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