Saturday, July 14, 2012

Five major ObamaCare taxes that will hit your wallet in 2013

Published July 05, 2012

FoxNews.com

June 28, 2012: Supporters of President Barack Obama's health care law celebrate outside the Supreme Court in Washington. (AP)

While the individual mandate tax gets most of the attention, the ObamaCare law actually contains 20 new or higher taxes on the American people. These taxes are gradually phased in over the years 2010 (with its 10 percent “tanning tax”) to 2018 (when the tax on comprehensive health insurance plans kicks in.)
Six months from now, in January 2013, five major ObamaCare taxes will come into force:

1. The ObamaCare Medical Device Manufacturing Tax

This 2.3 percent tax on medical device makers will raise the price of (for example) every pacemaker, prosthetic limb, stent, and operating table. Can you remind us, Mr. President, how taxing medical devices will reduce the cost of health care? The tax is particularly destructive because it is levied on gross sales and even targets companies who haven’t turned a profit yet.
These are often small, scrappy companies with less than 20 employees who pioneer the next generation of life-prolonging devices. In addition to raising the cost of health care, this $20 billion tax over the next ten years will not help the country’s jobs outlook, as the industry employs nearly 400,000 Americans. Several companies have already responded to the looming tax by cutting research and development budgets and laying off workers.

2. The ObamaCare High Medical Bills Tax

This onerous tax provision will hit Americans facing the highest out-of-pocket medical bills. Currently, Americans are allowed to deduct medical expenses on their 1040 form to the extent the costs exceed 7.5 percent of one’s adjusted gross income.
The new ObamaCare provision will raise that threshold to 10 percent, subjecting patients to a higher tax bill. This tax will hit pre-retirement seniors the hardest. Over the next ten years, affected Americans will pony up a minimum total of $15 billion in taxes thanks to this provision.

3. The ObamaCare Flexible Spending Account Cap

The 24 million Americans who have Flexible Spending Accounts will face a new federally imposed $2,500 annual cap. These pre-tax accounts, which currently have no federal limit, are used to purchase everything from contact lenses to children’s braces. With the cost of braces being as high as $7,200, this tax provision will play an unwelcome role in everyday kitchen-table health care decisions.
The cap will also affect families with special-needs children, whose tuition can be covered using FSA funds. Special-needs tuition can cost up to $14,000 per child per year. This cruel tax provision will limit the options available to such families, all so that the federal government can squeeze an additional $13 billion out of taxpayer pockets over the next ten years.
The targeting of FSAs by President Obama and congressional Democrats is no accident. The progressive left has never been fond of the consumer-driven accounts, which serve as a small roadblock in their long-term drive for a one-size-fits-all government health care bureaucracy.
For further proof, note the ObamaCare “medicine cabinet tax” which since 2011 has barred the 13.5 million Americans with Health Savings Accounts from purchasing over-the-counter medicines with pre-tax funds.

4. The ObamaCare Surtax on Investment Income

Under current law, the capital gains tax rate for all Americans rises from 15 to 20 percent in 2013, while the top dividend rate rises from 15 to 39.6 percent. The new ObamaCare surtax takes the top capital gains rate to 23.8 percent and top dividend rate to 43.4 percent. The tax will take a minimum of $123 billion out of taxpayer pockets over the next ten years.
And, last but not least...

5. The ObamaCare Medicare Payroll Tax increase

This tax soaks employers to the tune of $86 billion over the next ten years.
As you can understand, there is a reason why the authors of ObamaCare wrote the law in such a way that the most brutal tax increases take effect conveniently after the 2012 election. It’s the same reason President Obama, congressional Democrats, and the mainstream media conveniently neglect to mention these taxes and prefer that you simply “move on” after the Supreme Court ruling.
John Kartch is director of communications at Americans for Tax Reform. Follow him on Twitter @JohnKartch

The MPS Cast of Characters

Posted by Tengrain May 16th, 2012

We are frequently asked for a cheat-sheet of all our favorite players. So, just because we love the Scissorheads best of all, here is the list. It will probably be updated frequently.

Admiral Weiner – George Will
The Aquah Budha = Rand Paul
Blam-Blam = Dick Cheney, from when he shot the old guy in the face
Black Walnut = Herman Cain. He gave himself this nickname, btw.
Blue-eyed Snidely Whiplash Wannabee = Paul Ryan
The Boreal Narcissus = Sarah Palin, also known as Mooselini
Boss Hogg = Former MS Governor Haley Barbour; married to Madame Hogg
Brisket^® = Bristol Palin; the ® is because she registered her name as a trademark.
Chimpy McStagger = President George Dubya Bush
Chinless Mitch = Mitch McConnell
Dancin’ Dave = David Gregory, so named because famously, he got on stage and danced while Turdblossom rapped. The horror, the horror!
Doughy Pantload = Jonah Goldberg; not mine, but by universal acclaim
Frothy = Rick Santorum; also sometimes called Pope Sanctimonious I
Gomer = Mike Huckabee, secret squirrel frier; married to The Gomerette
Grandpa Walnuts = Senator John McCain
The Human Hindenburg = Rush Limbaugh
Junkie Limbaugh = Rush Limbaugh
Malkkkin = Michele Malkkkin
Mistress Condi = Condoleeza Rice, whom we suspect of being a secret dominatrix. Her slave is The Worm Hadley.
Mooselini = Sarah Palin, also sometimes The Boreal Narcissus
Newticles = Newt Gingrich
Orange Crush = John Boehner because of his peculiar color. Also known as Weepy
Our Lady of the Immaculate Cheesecake = Katherine Jean Lopez
Peggington Noonington = Peggy Noonan
Petunia (and Pals) = Gretchen Carlson and the Fox and Friends cast of buffoons and circus freaks
Pope Sanctimonious I = Rick Santorum; also sometimes called Frothy
Saint Ronnie = Ronald Reagan
SoyBlo = Meghan McCain; short for Soylent Blonde
Traitor Joe = Joe Lieberman
Turdblossom = Karl Rove, not mine: Chimpy McStagger nicknamed him this.
Tweety = Chris Matthews
Uncle Goldbug = Ron Paul, because of his stance on hard money
Weepy = John Boehner, who cries a lot; sometimes known as Weepy McDrunky because, well, he’s a notorious drunk; also sometimes known as the Orange Crush because of his peculiar color.
Willard, The Willard Mechanism = Willard Mitt Romney
The Worm Hadley = former national security advisor Stephan Hadley, whom we suspect was the submissive to Mistress Condi’s dominatrix.

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Don't be fooled, Americans are starting to embrace ObamaCare

By Juan Williams

Published July 03, 2012

FoxNews.com

June 28, 2012: President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington after the Supreme Court ruled on his health care legislation. (AP2012)

Watching President Obama's response to Thursday's Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of his health care reform law, I could not help but think how different things would be if he had given the same speech two years ago.
He began his remarks from the White House by saying the Court had “reaffirmed a fundamental principle that here in America -- in the wealthiest nation on Earth -- no illness or accident should lead to any family's financial ruin.”
Reaffirmed?
If you ask most Americans, they will tell you the president and his party never made that point in the first place. All the talk was about “Cornhusker Kickbacks” and “Chicago-style politics,” to win votes in Congress. GOP critics hammered the plan as a “big government takeover” and “socialism.”
But with last week’s Supreme Court ruling in favor of the health care plan public opinion on the plan is starting to become more favorable.
On Sunday Reuters released a poll showing 48 percent of registered voters now back the bill. That is up five percent since the ruling. That includes a bump in support among independent voters from 27 percent to 38 percent. And even opposition among Republicans, who overwhelmingly hate it, went down five percentage points from 86 percent to 81 percent.
And those numbers are likely to keep rising. Also, GOP critics are now on the defensive. They have to talk about specific benefits in the law and how they could do better if they repeal the law.
That is going to be hard for Republicans once Americans personally start reaping the benefit of the law.
Here are a couple of reasons why I say this:

First, the parts of the president's health care law that have already been implemented are actually very popular. And Americans tell pollsters they don't want to see them taken away.
Clear majorities of people say they want insurance companies to cover those with pre-existing conditions, they want children to be able to stay on their parent's health insurance until they are 26 or find a job, they don't want insurance companies dropping people's coverage when they get sick or hiking up their premiums. If you poll senior citizens and ask them if they like saving money on their prescription drugs, they say they do.
Second, while it is not a majority there is still a significant percentage of Americans people who say they oppose the law because they think it doesn't go far enough. They wanted a public option or single payer.
For example, a New York Times/CBS News poll released in early June found that 37 percent of Americans believed the law went too far, while 27 percent said not far enough and 25 percent said about right.
When you delve deeper into the numbers 26 percent of those in opposition thought the law was about right or wanted the government to go even further – they wanted a Medicare type program to cover all Americans regardless of age.

One of the main reasons for opposition to the bill was the mandate for everyone to have health insurance or pay a tax/penalty equal to cost of an insurance premium.
Mitt Romney understood the necessity of the individual mandate when he was governor of Massachusetts. That is why he made it the centerpiece of RomneyCare.
Though he disowned it during the 2012 GOP primaries, RomneyCare has been a monumental success. The Bay State currently has the best insurance coverage rate of any state in the union – with 100 percent of all children in the state covered and 98 percent of all residents.
The Obama campaign would be wise to point this out as they message their health care victory between now and November.
The Court’s decision also means that the other good provisions of the Affordable Care Act will be allowed to stand.
As the president pointed out in his speech, 13 million Americans or their employers who provide health insurance will be receiving a rebate check from their insurance companies this summer. The new law requires insurers to spend 80 percent of their money on insurance and not on administrative overhead and bonuses to their CEOs.
Seniors citizens will also receive a discount on their prescription drugs, which the president noted has already saved more than 5 million Medicare beneficiaries about $600 each. By 2020, the law will fully close the Medicare part D coverage gap – commonly known as "the donut hole" – saving seniors even more money.
Americans enrolled in Medicare Part C – or Medicare Advantage -- have seen their premiums lowered by 16 percent since 2010, giving seniors access to inexpensive, quality health care. Their premiums will continue to be lowered once the law is fully implemented.
People concerned about fraud in Medicare should also applaud the Court’s decision. Due to new enforcement powers given to the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services, $4.1 billion in fraudulent Medicare claims were stopped in 2011. This constitutes the largest sum ever recovered in a single year from individuals and companies attempting to defraud the American taxpayers. Look for a continued reduction in the incidence of Medicare fraud in the coming years.
Now that the president has demonstrated that he is willing to explain the benefits of the law to the American people, those numbers are pliable – they can be moved between now and the election.
Chief Justice John Roberts has not only given ObamaCare the imprimatur of constitutionality, he has given the president license to brag about his bill on the campaign trail.
Juan Williams is a Fox News political analyst. He is the author of several books including "Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America--and What We Can Do About It" and "Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate.

ObamaCare ruling destroys perfectly good teaching tool for tax professors

By Tommy De Seno

Published June 29, 2012

As Father Guido Sarducci used to remind us, everything you remember from college can be taught in 5 minutes.
And he wasn't kidding.
Within those 5 minutes are little sparks of knowledge. They originate from a good teacher who imparted upon us something so simple yet profound that it made an indelible mark on our memory, causing us to never forget it.
One of these sparks I recall from law school came from a professor who taught his students how to identify when a tax occurs: “A tax occurs on a transfer of money. Picture a government hand. There are times when a buyer transfers money to a seller, interrupted by the government hand grabbing the money in the middle, taking out its share then handing the balance to the seller.”
This definition of a tax occurring only on a transfer of money has served me well because the definition has never failed me.
A review of Black’s Law Dictionary’s definition of tax shows a variety of taxes, all of them first requiring a transfer of money or value: Income tax, payroll tax, consumption tax, estate tax, capital gains tax, gift tax, franchise tax, gross receipts tax, severance tax, tariffs, excise taxes on fuel, liquor and cigarettes, licenses and surcharges all involve obvious transfers of money.
User fees tax the transfer to the consumer of that which is being used.
Ad Valorem taxes in manufacturing are levied upon the transfer of a product whose value has been increased.
Even real estate taxes, a form of ad valorem, occur when realty is transferred (though more insidious than others in that the transfer is then taxed each year, the amount of tax rising and falling with the value of the property which is tied to the transfer of money being gained or lost). Real estate taxes are also user fees assessed for the transfer of benefits like snow removal, garbage removal, etc.
Every tax has at its core the prerequisite of a transfer of money or value.
Thanks to the ObamaCare ruling, not transferring money or value may now be taxed, the precise opposite of what a tax has been in the history of jurisprudence.
The dissent laments the scant words used by Chief Justice Roberts on the issue, and all that can be found is the following, surely to win this year’s circuitous argument award:

“Sustaining the mandate as a tax depends only on whether Congress has properly exercised its taxing power to encourage purchasing health insurance, not whether it can.” [Emphasis in the original]

In other words, Congress did it, therefore we assume they can do it. Can you say, unchecked power?
What is left out of that analysis is what a tax “is.” Let’s break Roberts' argument down. The question of “whether Congress properly exercised its taxing power” was answered in the affirmative by the Chief Justice based upon nothing more than the collection agent being the IRS. As the Chief Justice said specifically, he is not deciding the issue of whether Congress “can” do this; he’s merely recognizing they did.
Why leave open the issue of whether the Congress “can” do this? Because that would require defining what a tax “is.” This clearly not being a tax (as Roberts ironically finds in the first part of the decision to avoid the Anti-Injunction Act) the answer would have been that Congress clearly “cannot” do what they did. Roberts’ reasoning can be stated thusly: “Congress did it, therefore it is done.”
The most succinct words from the dissent about this is an affirmation that what Congress and the Chief Justice have done has never been done before, centered on this being a penalty not a tax (exactly as the Obama administration contended, and as Roberts found in the beginning of this schizophrenic decision that finds on one issue this is a penalty an on another issue it is a tax):

We never have classified as a tax an exaction imposed for violation of the law, and so too, we never have classified as a tax an exaction described in the legislation itself as a penalty.

While the definition of tax and how to identify a tax has now been set upon its head, far more damage has been done to individual liberty.
Congress may now tax you for not doing what it wants you to do. Somehow, that’s not a penalty so long as the IRS collects the money. It is a tax.
The Democrats who constructed this new power suffer from the “Good King” delusion. They see their ends – universal health care – as so good that it justifies giving themselves the power to retard liberty and direct individual behavior.
The problem, of course, is never with the “Good King,” rather the “Next King.” What sort of behavior will the Next King, the one we don’t know yet, compel us to do with this new power to direct our behavior against our will?
Tommy De Seno is editor of JustifiedRight.com and is a practicing attorney. He writes frequently for Ricochet.com.

VEEP Time Line (Puzzle here)

Romney Nears Final Stage of Veep Search

July 09, 2012

"With the prospective vice presidential candidates fanning out as campaign-trail surrogates, Romney and his closest counselors have entered the final stages of selecting the ultimate surrogate -- a running mate," the Washington Post reports.

"There are seven weeks remaining until the Republican National Convention in Tampa, and Romney has a few important strategic decisions to make before then: not only who to name as a vice presidential nominee, but also when and how to do so."

Wednesday, Jun 06, 2012

Shenanigans: Veep Search!

How many potential running mates for Mitt Romney can you find?

By Dave Maass

7:34 AM EDT, Friday May 18, 2012

Romney Campaign Officially Begins Veep Search

The Hill reports this morning that Mitt Romney’s campaign is off to an early start in formally vetting potential running mates.
According to the report, Beth Myers, who is conducting the search for the Romney campaign, has already begun contacting prospective veep picks.

The Veep Search Begins!

According to Talking Points Memo, The Willard Mechanism is starting the process in earnest, which only means that it is time to republish our research paper on the Veeps, you know, to help him out.
Many thanks to unindicted co-conspirators GRS and Axel Grease.

	Pro	Con	Handicap
Minnesota Member of Congress Michele Bachmann	There would never be a dull moment as Bachmann-the-Nut makes up her own version os US History and talks to her invisible friends, adjusting her tinfoil hat and hiding behind plants..	Bat-shit insane. Says God wanted her to run.	Husband Marcus makes GOP men tighten their sphincters.
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour	He looks like Boss Hogg, sounds like Boss Hogg, acts like Boss Hogg. Dukes of Hazzard revival eminent if he is selected.	Boss Hogg might be a racist southerner, or might be a GOPer.	Madam Hogg didn’t want him to run for preznint, and withheld sex until she got her way. Ewww, gross.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush	The Bush Crime Family dynasty continues!	Chimpy.	His appalling family.
Fast Food Former CEO, Herman Cain	Wants to run government like a business. “Doesn’t matter if it is a pizza, or a burger, or the White House: a problem, is a problem, is a problem.”	“9-9-9!” ~~Cain~~Black Walnut claims that President Obama has brainwashed black americans, except for himself, that is.	Noted as one of the primary saboteurs of Clinton’s Healthcare Plan, Black Walnut ran for Senate in Georgia not knowing that he was black, and lost.
Majority Leader Eric Cantor	Southern and Jewish, will be interesting to watch wingnuttia’s heads explode	Eric Cantor is the closest thing to an Iago in American Politics.	No one trusts him.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie	Hates unions and gay marriage, former lobbyist, will solve budget by asking billionaires to “write a check”	Hates partisan attacks except when he threatens to go “Jersey Style” on his own party.	Loves Muslims so much that he lets them live in his state, even nominating one of them to be a judge!
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels	Smartest man in the room, but not in a Newticles way.	His wife keeps leaving him for other men.	Daniels was Chimpy’s budget director.
Former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich	Two words: Moon Colony.	Often contradicts himself, even in the same sentence. A complete sociopath, there is no lie too small to tell to David Gregory, who will will nod his head in agreement.	Staff-banging serial adulterer married his third wife and former mistress, Callista, who could suck rocks through a garden hose.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley	Would help with Willard’s women problem.	Keeps telling women that there is no war on women and that they really want to be soccer moms, so shut up about birth control.	South Carolina Governors get lost on the appalachian trail, so to speak.
Former Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee	Knows a secret way to cook up squirrels in the popcorn popper. Is married to notable fashion plate, the Gomerette.	Kids pack heat, and have problems with bringing guns on planes. Al Qada? Another GOPer who thinks that God talks to him (Is mental illness catching? Yes.)	Gomer is the darling of the Xristian Xrazies, and would never play second fiddle to a Mormon.
Former Utah Governor, Jon Huntsman)	Billionaire REO Speedwagon fanboy.	Former ambassador to Communist China for the Kenyan Usurper Hawaiian Devil Baby President Obama.	He and Willard hate each other; cousin rivalry.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal	Hates science and earmarks, unless he can perform an exorcism on them first.	Impossible for him to look and sound anymore like Kenneth from 30 Rock.	Penned “Beating a Demon.” Potentially a metaphor or a lifted title from a Lynne Cheney erotic novella.
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell	Looks straight out of Central Aryan Casting. High brow snob as he has 4 degrees – from Notre Dame, Boston University and TWO from Regents. Interned with the man the French cannot get enough of – Jerry Lewis (R-CA). Reinstated Confederate History Month – ignoring the fact that slavery was even part of the Civil War. Wanted to put a toll booth up on the North Carolina border.	Wrote law to force women to have a probe shoved up their lady parts without their permission and for no medical reason before terminating a pregnancy. Conveniently denied having anything to do with that law when he realized it might hurt his chances at the Sarah Palin Memorial Award for the most evil and uncaring Vice Presidential candidate.	Looks eerily like Dan Quayle.
Former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin	Part-time Governor and full-time Grifter, Mooselini has entered more words into the dictionary than most people alive.	Taaahd.	She likes to put bullseye targets on political enemies, which includes most of the US.
Ron Paul (R- Texas)	Denies his own newsletters; invokes applause at poor people dying. Market solutions!	Ron is a Texan.	Senator Rand Paul is his son.
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty	Mr. Excitement, Tea-Paw makes Willard 2.0 almost seem alive.	Hired drunks from Alabama to do breaking and entering/outreach in Iowa.	Only GOPer in history to run for Preznint and get turned down by Fox News for a show.
Texas Governor Rick Perry	Expert user of back-pain medicines, might be willing to share.	Secessionist theocrat, Gov. Goodhair’s family compound is known as Niggerhead.	Confused by geography, economy, political science, words with syllables.
Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice	Allegedly a woman, Rice might help with Willard’s gender problem.	Firmly associated with Chimpy.	Would interfer with her shoe shopping hobby.
Senator Mark Rubio	Rubio might help with GOP’s out reach to minorities.	After endorsing Willard 2.0, he immediately said he wished someone else was running.	Notorious liar about his family history, especially fleeing from Cuba.
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum	His Google Problem.	Alerted horn-dog Senator John Ensign that he was about to be outed by the cuckolded husband of his mistress.	Brought home aborted baby Gabriel and posed for pictures with it, made children say hello to it.

10:13 AM EDT, Monday April 16, 2012

Romney Confirms Veep Search Under Way

In an interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer, Mitt Romney confirmed that his campaign’s search for a running mate is under way. His longtime adviser Beth Myers is in charge of the search.
“I’ve asked her to be the person who oversees the process of the vice presidential selection and vetting an analysis and so she’s begun that process and is putting together the kinds of things you need to do to vet potential candidates,” said Romney.
Romney said he has a deadline in mind for choosing a VP, but declined to state what that was. This weekend marked the first time the campaign talked seriously about a VP pick, Ann Romney said.

Let madness begin in the veep search

Published: March 28, 2012

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2012/03/28/3142807/let-madness-begin-in-the-veep.html#storylink=cpy

By Keith Bierly

In a column last March, I indicated that Mitt Romney would be the 2012 Republican presidential nominee as I discussed fatal flaws with other potential candidates. Had the Republican powers listened, they could have saved hundreds of millions of dollars for their fall campaign. Romney will prevail, but it has been a bit tougher than I imagined.
In the spirit of NCAA March Madness basketball, it is time to look at the brackets for the vice-presidential slot on a Romney ticket. In that same column, I had predicted former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty for vice-president. Although he remains in the mix, I think he might be a bit too reserved for the role.
Unlike the NCAA field of 68, I’ll cut it to a more manageable 20 in four regions.
In the Mostly Fluff Division we have Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, South Dakota Sen. John Thune and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. This group gets by on looks, charm and basic persona.
In the Real Substance Division are Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, Pawlenty and Arizona Sen. John McCain. This group has demonstrated character and ability.
In the Totally Wacko Division are former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, businessman Herman Cain, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and media hosts Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. The division title speaks for itself.
In the Swing States Division we have Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman. Any of these choices might bring along their home state vote.
My Final Four are Thune, Snowe, Santorum and Portman.
Thune wins the Fluff Division because he has not been in the national spotlight and, unlike Perry, Bachmann and Palin, he can count to three, knows the home state of Lexington and Concord and that there is a difference between North and South Korea. And, unlike Christie, he is probably not a big fan of New Jersey’s Democratic rocker Bruce Springsteen.
Snowe comes out of the Substance Division as the only female in American history to serve in both houses of a state legislature and both houses of the U.S. Congress. She is a national treasure who is thoughtful on domestic and foreign policy issues.
Santorum wins the Wacko Division. Listen to his speeches. He talks of throwing up in response to President John F. Kennedy’s Houston separation of church and state speech. He thinks President Barack Obama is a “snob” because he believes in college opportunities for everyone; that Satan is targeting America; and that women should listen to him on birth control issues. He picked “courage” as a word to describe himself in a recent debate; “sanctimonious” is a better fit.
Portman wins the Swing States Division because Ohio is critical to a Republican victory and, having served as President George W. Bush’s budget director, he adds fiscal discipline to a Romney ticket.
The final choice comes down to gender versus geography. Although Snowe would show that Romney might be more considerate on women’s issues than other Republican candidates, she has voted with Democratic senators a bit too often to suit many top Republicans.
I’ll go with Portman as a safer VP choice. He helped deliver Ohio to Romney in the primary, and might do so in the fall. He appears to be a very solid public official.
As a citizen, no mater how partisan I might be, I hope for the best candidates on both major-party tickets. At the end of the day, regardless of the outcome, the country needs and deserves someone capable of handling the top political positions in our country. I hope Romney has sufficient time to make a careful selection.

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2012/03/28/3142807/let-madness-begin-in-the-veep.html#storylink=cpy

Portman: ‘We Need To Face Facts, We’re Going Broke’

9:55 AM EDT, Saturday July 14, 2012
Sen. Rob Portman delivered the Republican weekly address, saying, “We need to face facts: we’re going broke.” Portman is considered by many to be near the top of Mitt Romney’s list of potential running mates. CNN reports that Portman on Saturday will appear at the opening of a Romney campaign office in Ohio.

GOPVeepstakes

The Townhall.com

Who do you think should be Mitt Romney's running mate? Townhall.com is conducting a monthly poll to see whom conservatives would like to see team up with Mitt Romney to take on President Obama. We'll keep polling until a running mate is selected. Vote now!