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These are my links for March 29th from 10:02 to 10:28:

• EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: RomneyCare author Jonathan Gruber – Right Turn – The Washington Post – Jennifer Rubin: RomneyCare author Jonathan Gruber
• Jennifer Rubin: RomneyCare author Jonathan Gruber – In short, Gruber is the most powerful voice (and the most dangerous one for the Romney campaign) for three fundamental points: 1) Romney championed the individual mandate, overriding concerns about personal freedom; 2) the plan today is pretty much the same as what Romney signed into law; and 3) without it in all likelihood we wouldn’t have ObamaCare today. That might sound like a reason for Democrats to vote for him, but in a Republican presidential primary all of that may be the death knell of the Romney candidacy.

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  A good interview by Jennifer Rubin that pretty much spells the end of Romney's distancing from his Massachusett's Health Care Plan – RomneyCare.

  He owns it and as a ObamaCare precursor he has lots of explaining to do – as I wrote about at the time it passed.

These are my links for March 29th from 09:39 to 09:51:

• Did Welfare Reform Cause “Black Flight”? – Walter Russell Mead sees the flight of blacks from Northern and Midwestern cities to suburbs in the South as a repudiation of the liberal “blue state” social model (unionism, regulation, taxes). Which it may well be. But there’s another angle: the 1996 welfare reform, and the message it sent. Working hypothesis: Welfare–specifically the old AFDC program–in essence told blacks in the North it was OK to stay put in their declining former ghetto communities. If people stayed, instead of moving in search of jobs, the checks would keep coming.  The ‘96 Clinton/Gingrich reform said: don’t count on welfare to be there for you. It is time-limited. You’ll have to work. If there are no jobs where you live, better move somewhere else. Result: Blacks moved to where the jobs are, which is the red states and the suburbs. …

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  Read it all

• Mitch Daniels Supportive Of Sen. Lugar GOP Challenger – Richard Mourdock – Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock was never expecting Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-Ind.) to endorse him as he mounts a primary challenge against Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.). But he said that Daniels offered encouragement for him to run–an important factor in his decision to challenge the longtime senator.

  "Before I decided to do this, he and I had three different conversations about it," Mourdock said in an interview with Hotline On Call. "And every time, he said, 'Richard Mourdock, don't you ever, ever, ever let anyone tell you don't have every right to do this. You've earned the right. You worked 31 years in the business world. We don't have that kind of experience very often in Washington."

  Earlier this month in an appearance on Meet the Press, Daniels said he planned to vote for Lugar, but the governor stopped short of endorsing the longtime senator and called Mourdock a friend. Mourdock said Daniels told him the same thing, and never discouraged him from challenging Lugar. Daniels has a long history with Lugar, having served as his top aide as a young political operative.

  "I'm very comfortable with what the governor did given his position," Mourdock said. "Why shouldn't they be friends? Why shouldn't he vote for him? I get that." Mourdock called himself a Daniels ally and said he would support him if he ran for president.

  "Our country needs him," Mourdock said.

  Daniels' spokesman Jane Jankowski said the governor neither encouraged nor discouraged Mourdock from launching a Senate run.

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  As I hav said before, Sen. Richard Lugar should just retire and enjoy the rest of his life.

• Howard Dean: Democrats Should Be ‘Quietly Rooting’ for Government Shutdown – Howard Dean, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, sees an upside to a looming government shutdown – at least politically.
  “If I was head of DNC, I would be quietly rooting for it,” said Dean, speaking on a National Journal Insider’s Conference panel Tuesday morning. “I know who’s going to get blamed – we’ve been down this road before.”
  The former Vermont governor and presidential candidate was alluding to 1995 and 1996, when two government shutdowns under a Republican Congress helped improve President Clinton’s reelection chances. The scenario could repeat this year as budget negotiations continue to falter, and Dean said he thinks the public will blame Republicans again.
  “From a partisan point of view, I think it would be the best thing in the world to have a shutdown,” said Dean. He added that as a statesman, he is not rooting for a shutdown because of its harmful effect on the country.
  Predicting who would get the blame for a government shutdown has been a favorite parlor game of Washington pundits since the new wave of House GOP freshmen demanded deep spending cuts to this year’s budget. Dean’s prediction that the fallout would be toxic to Republicans drew a rebuke from former Rep. Vin Weber, who joined Dean on the panel. The Minnesota Republican argued that 2011 is a different time, and that voters are more focused on government spending than they were 16 years ago.

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  Read it all

  Pretty standard….

Americans for Prosperity, California start their “Hold Them Accountable” campaign today with airing radio ads targeting GOP State Senators in the Central Valley.

Specifically, the ads will focus on Senators Tom Berryhill and Anthony Cannella, both Republicans who seem open to supporting the tax hikes. The ads are part of a media and ground campaign to educate and mobilize citizens in opposition to tax increases.

“Californians are already among the highest taxed citizens in the country,” stated State Director David Spady. “Yet Governor Brown and his legislative cohorts are cooking up a tax hike scheme that will be felt by every hardworking Californian. These legislators have the ability to stop this tax increase from going on the ballot, we expect them to protect taxpayers.”

“Governor Brown wants to impose the largest tax increase in California history,” explained State Chairman Peter Foy, who voices the radio ads. “As a group that stands up for taxpayers, we will do everything we can to oppose these terrible tax hikes. That includes holding accountable the legislators who may be coerced into raising taxes on their constituents. Someone has to speak for taxpayers, and Americans for Prosperity will do so.”

Time is running out for a tax extension election this June. Most pundits are now predicting that Governor Jerry Brown will bypass the California Legislature and the 2/3rds vote requirement (requiring GOP participation) and gather signatures for an initiative placing the matter before voters in November. However, the taxes would then no longer be considered tax extensions, but new taxes since the Schwarzenegger era tax increases (that Brown wants to extend) will expire at the end of June.

So, will these GOP Senators make a deal with Governor Brown?

Stay tuned……

Here is a good video that summarizes the conundrum facing the California Legislature when considering the Amazon internet sales tax – the loss of revenue and California jobs.

I have written more about this issue:

Video: How Amazon Internet Sales Tax Legislation Hurts California Small Business

Overstock.Com Threatens to Terminate California-Based Affiliates Should Internet Tax Legislation – AB 153 Passes

Amazon Internet Sales Tax WILL Require Super Majority in California Legislature

Video: California Board of Equalization Casts Doubt on Amazon Internet Sales Tax Legislation

The Amazon Tax Returns to California

These are my links for March 28th through March 29th:

• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-03-29 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-03-29 #tcot #catcot
• California Republicans: State GOP trying to craft its own mail-in primary before open primary law takes effect – latimes.com – California Republicans: State GOP trying to craft its own mail-in primary before open primary law takes effect -…
• Day by Day March 28, 2011 – Sister Talk | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day by Day March 28, 2011 – Sister Talk | Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
• Flap’s Links and Comments for March 28th on 18:00 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for March 28th on 18:00 | Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
• Flap’s Links and Comments for March 28th on 18:07 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for March 28th on 18:07 #tcot #catcot