Republican David Jolly Defeats Democrat Alex Sink in Florida Special Election for #FL13 … In a District Obama won in 2008 & 2012

A sign of things to come for the upcoming 2014 midterm elections … Republicans defeat Democrats in special election vote in Florida, a district that Obama was twice.

Republican David Jolly has defeated Democrat Alex Sink to win the special election in Florida’s 13th district. Despite being outspent 4 to 1, despite being the lesser known candidate and despite being behind in polls ahead of the special election, Jolly defeated Sink 48.5% to 46.5%.  Libertarian Lucas Overby had 4.8%.  OUCH, that is going to leave a stinging mark on Democrats.  Is this a harbinger of things to come this Fall? Although the seat has been held by a popular Republican for years, Barack Obama carried the district in 2008 by 8.2% and in 2012 by 5.6% . This is a perfect example of a snap shot in time to see just how unpopular Obama has become and namely, Obamacare. Florida-13 is a swing district in a swing state that covers most of Pinellas County between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, including parts of St. Petersburg.

Pic source – CNN

Republican David Jolly narrowly defeated Democrat Alex Sink in the special election for Florida’s 13th District on Tuesday in an unusually expensive race watched closely by both parties as the midterm election season kicks into high gear.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Jolly beat Sink, 48.5 percent to 46.6 percent, according to The Associated Press.

Both Democrats and the GOP plowed millions of dollars into the swing district race in hopes of an election year boost. The results appeared to vindicate the strategy of the GOP, which focused its attacks on linking Sink to Obamacare and managed to win with an untested candidate who had frustrated many in the national party.

Sink was “ultimately brought down because of her unwavering support for Obamacare, and that should be a loud warning for other Democrats running coast to coast,” National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden said in a statement.

The folks on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ had to admit that this is a devastating blow to Democrats and Democrat moral for the 2014 elections. Republicans in Washington thought that Jolly was a bad candidate. Doesn’t that show how much the GOP establishment knows? This stinging defeat of a Democrat hand-picked, centrist candidate, who had previously run for Florida governor shows the rest of the Democrat politicians that they cannot run on the notion that Obamacare is good. One has to wonder whether Obama will be asked to campaign in any states or districts unless they are absolute sure races or a Democrat running unopposed.

As stated at the Tampa Bay Tribune, David Jolly’s victory Tuesday in the U.S. House District 13 special election represents a clear repudiation of Obamacare.

Powerline weighs in on the impact of Florida 13′s special election, Dave Wasserman, the editor of the non-partisan Cook Political Report and certainly not a Republican operative, says “If Dems couldn’t win an Obama congressional district with a solid candidate against a flawed R, expect a rough November.”

Please do not confuse Dave Wasserman and Liberal Florida House Democrat election denier Debbie Wasserman-Schultz who said last night following the Democrat defeat, that the Democrat loss in special election shows GOP weakness. Really Debbie, you can say that with a straight face, eh? Next thing Debbie will be telling folks, if you like your helthcare plan, you can keep it.

“Republican special interest groups poured in millions to hold onto a Republican congressional district that they’ve comfortably held for nearly 60 years. Tonight, Republicans fell short of their normal margin in this district because the agenda they are offering voters has a singular focus – that a majority of voters oppose – repealing the Affordable Care Act that would return us to the same old broken health care system,” Wasserman Schultz said in a DNC rapid response statement.

pic – screen shot from MSNBC Video above

Let the Democrat ostrich head in the sand spin begin and them shaking in their collection boots when the camera is off.

Obamacare Will Increase Healthcare Premium Costs for 65% of Small Businesses

Didn’t Barack Obama say that Obamacare was going to lower costs … Guess who lied again?

As reported at the Washington Post and direct from CMS, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 65% of small businesses are expected to experience increases in their premium rates while the remaining 35 percent are anticipated to have rate reductions.” According to the report, 11 million American workers will be faced with higher premiums. CMS released the report on Friday with little fanfare. Neither the HHS website nor the CMS website shows a news release or public notice about the report. Imagine that. No one is saying that there did not need to be some adjustment to the delivery system of health care insurance, however, penalizing 65% to benefit the 35% was and is not the answer.

Nearly two-thirds of small businesses that currently offer health insurance to their workers will pay more for coverage as a result of new rules in the health care law, as will millions of small-business employees and their family members, according to new estimates released by the Obama administration.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which has spearheaded the implementation of the law, has acknowledged that new rules requiring insurers to offer guaranteed coverage and renewal options to small employers will likely drive up the price of insurance for some companies. So will rules banning insurance companies from varying their rates based on factors like a company’s industry or the age of its employees.

“We are estimating that 65 percent of the small firms are expected to experience increases in their premium rates while the remaining 35 percent are anticipated to have rate reductions,” CMS’ Office of the Actuary wrote in a new report. Conversely, “the effect on large employers is expected to be negligible,” because most large companies run their health insurance programs in house.

Some premiums will be reduced; however, the overwhelming majority of individuals, some 11 million, will see their premiums increased. Mind you, this is just small business, we are not even discussing businesses with more than 50 employees.

Consequently, according to the estimates, which the agency says are based on industry research and conversations with insurance experts, roughly 11 million of the 17 million individuals who have health care plans through a small employer will see their premiums increase as a result of the law, while 6 million people will enjoy lower premiums.

If accurate, it would continue a steady climb in insurance costs for many small businesses. Ninety-six percent of small businesses say their premiums have increased in the past five years, with the average monthly insurance cost soaring from $590 per employee in 2009 to $1,121 in 2014, according to poll released earlier this month by the National Small Business Administration.

Imagine being penalized for having a healthy work force? One would think that programs implemented by a business like “Healthy Life”, would lower insurance premiums, not raise them. Nope, not with Obamacare. This is all part of the distribution of wealth.

The six-page document looked at companies with fewer than 50 workers that offer employee health benefits, but it calculated health care costs in a hypothetical way – leaving out the impact of government subsidies that are specifically geared for small businesses.

Without factoring in government subsidies, CMS concluded that 65% of those small businesses would see an increase in premiums.

Why? The report found that those companies had been paying below-average premiums, thanks in large part to having younger and healthier workers. But under Obamacare, neither pre-existing conditions, nor the lack of them, can influence the cost of premiums. So those small companies with healthier workers will see premiums rise to match the average for all workers.

Arkansas Senate Rce: Incumbent US Sen. Mark Pryor (D) in Trouble in Polls, Trails GOP Challanger Tom Cotton, 46% – 42%

BARACK OBAMA AND OBAMACARE CAUSING DEMOCRATS TO BE IN TROUBLE IN SENATE RACE IN ARKANSAS …

Define irony? Barack Obama needs to hold a Democrat Senate and gain the House in the 2014 to further Obamacare and to finish the devastation that his administration and policies have brought upon America. However, his signature piece of legislation, Obamacare, that may cost Democrats the Senate and lose more seats in the House. According to a recent poll, incumbent US Sen. Democrat Mark Pryor is in real trouble against his Republican challenger, Tom Cotton. The poll currently shows that Cotton leads Pryor, 46% to 42%. Obamacare is weighting down Democrats with an upset electorate.

Tom Cotton –  U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas’s 4th district

A recent poll shows U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Dardanelle, gaining ground in his bid to unseat Democrat U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor. The poll results also show the Arkansas’ governors race to be tied up, and U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin, R-Little Rock, with an advantage in the race for lieutenant governor

In the U.S. Senate race, Cotton had 46% support from poll respondents and Pryor had 42%. This is a favorable shift for Cotton compared to an Oct. 24 Impact Management poll that had Cotton at 43% and Pryor at 41%.

The poll further shows that Barack Obama’s Obamacare is sinking Democrats chances in Arkansas to retain the Senate seat. Check out the Independents against Obamacare.

Following are two questions and results related to Obamacare and Arkansas’ private option plan.
Q: Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Obamacare?
27%: Favorable
63%: Unfavorable
10%: Don’t know

On this question, 58% of Democrats were favorable and 26% were unfavorable. On the Republican side, 95% were unfavorable and only 2% were favorable. Among Independents, 74% were unfavorable and 14% were favorable.

The Arkansas Blog - Polling in statewide races: Edge to Republicans.

The race for Governor is a dead heat; however, in a midterm election if Republican voters are energized in their vote against Obamacare, that will tilt the balance in favor of the GOP candidate from its current tie, Democrat Mike Ross, 42, Republican Asa Hutchinson, 42.

Look for an upcoming post that will handicap the upcoming US Senate races for 2014.

Democrats Running Ads Criticizing Obamacare … Joe Garcia Running in Florida’s 26th District Hardly Praising O-Care

From NRO, Democrats are forced to run political ads that criticize Obamacare.

Nancy Pelosi said that Democrats would proudly run on Obamacare, not away from it in the 2014 midterm elections. Um, the Democrat political ad below is hardly a ringing endorsement of President Obama’s signature piece of legislation. Democrats feel the need to have to discuss Obamacare and continually bring up the fact that it is a disaster. This is hardly the word choice and lasting impression that you want to leave with voters. An already angry electorate who has lost their insurance because of Obamacare, lost their doctors and had their premiums increased.  If this is how Dems are going to have to contort themselves in 2014, they are in some serious trouble.

Now, it is true that Garcia doesn’t call for repeal. Indeed, the ad boasts that the candidate is “working to fix” the law, and it praises him both for holding “insurance companies accountable” and for defending the provision that prevents insurance companies from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. But it is fascinating to watch a Political Action Committee associated with Nancy “we’re going to run on Obamacare” Pelosi slamming the White House for “the disastrous healthcare website” and boasting — without any time qualification, it should be said — that its man “voted to let you keep your existing health plan.”

But, in Florida’s 26th district — as in much of the country one presumes — the choice in 2014 is going to be between a candidate who is criticizing Obamacare and a candidate who wants to get rid of it completely. Democrats are being forced to have a conversation they’d rather not have. Bottom line: The issue isn’t dead — far from it.

HealthCare.gov to be Out of Service For Maintenance that Inconveniences the Customer for Those Seeking Coverage by March 1

What is wrong with this picture …

As reported at The Onion   The Hill, HealthCare.gov will be out of service for two and a half days beginning on Feb. 15 so that they can perform annual systems maintenance activities. During this period of time the site will be lacking some enrollment functionalities. Get this, those individuals seeking coverage by March 1 must have signed up online by Feb. 15, but with the website maintenance, those registering at the last minute won’t be able to find out what plans or subsidies they qualify for. Um, I guess it is only the government that schedules maintenance of a web site that completely inconveniences the user. You just can’t make this stuff up.

HealthCare.gov will be out of service for two and a half days beginning on Feb. 15 — the last day people can sign up to obtain coverage that begins on March 1.

The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services announced in a blog post on Monday that the ObamaCare website would be lacking some enrollment functionalities so the Social Security Administration can conduct its annual systems maintenance activities.

The site will be out of order from 3 p.m. on Feb. 15 until 5 a.m. on Tuesday — a period that coincides with the long holiday weekend.

Those seeking coverage by March 1 must have signed up online by Feb. 15, but with the website maintenance, those registering at the last minute won’t be able to find out what plans or subsidies they qualify for.

The CMS is encouraging these users to call a hotline to complete the process.