Owens Gives Away His Vote to Pelosi & Betrays the People of NY-23

Today, the race for NY-23 just lost another candidate, incumbent Congressman Bill Owens, who told Nancy Pelsoi she could have his vote for Bigger Government this morning. Owens made his decision before he even finished reading the bill. You can read Owens' justification here. When you read it you almost have to wonder whether Owens' staff could write it with a straight face. At least now we really know how liberal Owens is, and now we know he is more liberal than his Democratic colleague, Michael Arcuri, who said he is voting no tomorrow.

I must admit that there was never actually any doubt in my mind about where Owens stood on this issue, but some people thought he would at least listen to his constituents and realize that a large majority of people are against this plan. But Owens chose a partisan path and people are continuing to ask themselves, "Where are the jobs and how will our state survive?" With his decision today, Owens basically just told every person who called him, visited him, wrote him or met with his staff to go bug off. So tomorrow Owens is voting to spend your tax dollars on the bribes we wrote about earlier this week: the Louisiana Purchase, the Cornhusker Kickback, the Gator-Aid and the Husky Hospital. But what did Owens get for NY-23? He got a commitment from Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama for some extra campaign cash and union assistance this coming November.

Saying, "the math is sound on this bill," Owens continues to claim that this bill will lower premiums and that Medicare beneficiaries will see their coverage improve. Both of these statements are patently false though. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office makes it clear that this bill requires 10 years of tax increases and 10 years of Medicare cuts to pay for just 6 years of benefits. The American people don't want this bill and they realize that 10 years of payments are not worth just 6 years of benefits. They know there is a better way -- a bipartisan way. You can ask the Democratic Whip of the United States Senate who spoke very clearly on these issues: Medicare cuts and premium increases. Senator Durbin confirms that the Medicare program will be cut. In the second video clip, he also confirms that your premiums will rise.

After you see a fellow Democrat expose Bill Owens on these issues ask yourself if this Big Government take-over is the right thing for our health care system, our children and our grandchildren. Do we want to bankrupt the Medicare program and tax our middle class to pay for a government take-over of our health care system? Ask yourself if you want to continue down this path of reckless spending and higher taxes. We should shelve this bill and start fresh. We can do that just as soon as we shelve Bill Owens and put someone else in his office to do the job of the people. Remember this weekend this coming November.

Is Bill Owens More Liberal Than Michael Arcuri?

Congressman Michael Arcuri of NY-24 is a sophomore Democratic House member who represents the district just south of NY-23. Today Arcuri went public that he is against Big Government ObamaCare. Just like Owens, Arcuri was a yes vote last year. You can see Arcuri's reasons here. Arcuri says, "I have talked to small business owners from Herkimer to Geneva who desperately needs health care reform but, uniformly, they tell me this new proposal will hurt them and their employees across the board. I've listened to my constituents and have heard their concerns clearly."

This puts incredible pressure on Bill Owens, who is still undecided on how he will vote. NY-23 and NY-24 are similar districts demographically and politically. The people of NY-24 don't want a government take-over of health care just like the people of NY-23 don't want it. And now the public is learning about the sweetheart deals in this bill that benefit other states. The Senate health care bill that the House is preparing to vote for on Sunday contains the Cornhusker Kickback, the Louisiana Purchase, the Gator-Aid and the Husky Hospital. On top of that it cuts Medicare for seniors by more than half a trillion dollars, uses the taxing-power of the federal government to pay for other people's abortions and adds new mandates and taxes on individuals and small businesses. New Yorkers are already saddled with huge debts and we are sick of the lack of transparency in government.

Here is a brief analysis of the avalanche of sleazy deals that is killing this bill:

The Cornhusker Kickback: A Nebraska Senator got a special deal where no one in his state would ever have to pay Medicaid taxes ever again. In exchange for a critical Senate vote, Nebraska's Medicaid costs would be paid for by the other 49 states. That is included in the 2,400+ page Senate bill all the House members will be voting on.

The Louisiana Purchase: A Louisiana Senator got $300+ million for new medical projects in exchange for her vote to pass the Senate bill. That $300+ million would come from taxpayers in the other 49 states.

The Gator-Aid: Somehow Florida, the Gator state, was able to keep the Medicare Advantage program for its almost 1 million seniors. No other state in the union would keep the Medicare Advantage benefits many seniors across the country rely upon. If this bill passes the House on Sunday, seniors in NY-23 will lose their Medicare Advantage benefits, but Florida seniors will keep theirs.

The Husky Hospital: The Senate bill has $100 million allocated for a new hospital in Connecticut, paid for by taxpayers across the country. Why doesn't NY-23 get its own new hospital?

On top of those hand-outs, Obama and Pelosi are sweetening the deal for other members of Congress to get this thing passed at the 11th hour. Human Events reported on these goodies today: "Rep. Bart Godron (D-Tenn.) who announced his retirement from Congress has been promised the job of NASA administrator in exchange for his vote, and Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.), another retiring Democrat, has been promised an appointment as U.S. Ambassador to NATO in exchange for his vote." Ask Owens what he got for NY-23, besides the bill for the taxpayers and some campaign contributions from Obama and company. Ask him if he is going to vote for the Cornhusker Kickback, the Louisiana Purchase, the Gator-Aid and the Husky Hospital for Connecticut.

Why would someone elected to represent our interests vote for our tax dollars to go to special deals in other states? Does Bill Owens really expect the voters of NY-23 to forgive him if he votes to make us pay federal taxes that go to benefit other states, but not our own? Right now the whip count stands at 205-202 in favor of the good guys. Owens is still undecided and to pass the Big Government take-over Obama needs 216 votes.

Watch the 90-second video below, which describes the whole process with some humor, and ask yourself why Bill Owens is more liberal than the Democrats south of NY-23. So much for hope and change. The only change NY-23 should be looking for is Owens to change his vote on health care. Our freshman congressman, Bill Owens, should follow his neighbor Michael Arcuri's lead on this big issue.