Hit or Miss

While the majority of ObamaCare remains unpopular, one provision of the law is quite popular and growing more popular with time. The provision that allows Young Adults under the age of 26 to stay on their parents health insurance continues to be popular and is making a big impact on the number of young people covered by medical insurance.

The number of young adults enrolling on their parents insurance plans has grown much faster than expected. It is estimated that nearly one million young adults have acquired medical insurance through their parents in the last year and a half since ObamaCare was passed.

So while some aspect of the law are popular, other aspects of the law remain slow to catch on and even unpopular in some cases. So it appears that the law is Hit or Miss so far.

State Mandates vs. Federal Mandates

In an interview with Bill O'Reilly, Romney made an interesting argument supporting mandates at the state level versus mandates made at the federal level.

Romney said that even though people may not realize it, the state government has lots of mandates on citizens, mandates that would be unconstitutional for the federal government to do. For example, state governments mandate that all kids go to school. The federal government can't mandate that all kids go to school because the federal constitution doesn't give the federal gov. that power.

I don't think most people realize that each state has its own constitution, and that the federal government also has its constitution. Too often when we talk about "the constitution," we only think of the federal constitution. But it is important to remember that each state has its own constitution as well, and that it is the state constitution that gives the state different powers than the federal government. The powers of the state constitution are much more broad and encompassing because it is meant to fill in the gaps where the federal constitution has been prohibited to go. The founding fathers wanted a limited federal government and as such, they gave it a very limited and narrow set of powers. It is the state governments that fill in the gaps with their own unique constitutions.

Also, state governments mandate that drivers must have auto insurance. The federal government can't do that either. Romney goes on to say that some people counter that auto insurance is only required if you have a car. And Mitt responds to that by saying "Well what state do you live in where you don't need a car?"

Tentative Primary Schedule

Thanks to Matt Coulter at Race 42012, we have a good breakdown of the primary calendar at this point.


January 23: Iowa
January 31: New Hampshire
February 4: Nevada
February 14: South Carolina
February 21: Florida
February 28: Arizona, Michigan

Arizona Defies RNC

Arizona throws the first wrench in the primary schedule today. AZ gov. Jan Brewer has shown herself before to be willing to take risks and defy convention. She did that today by announcing that the AZ presidential primary will be held on Feb. 28, 2012, a week before it was supposed to. The announcement is a smack in the face to the RNC who determines the voting schedule of each state.

AZ now becomes the first state to set their voting schedule before the timeframe they were allowed by the RNC.

Currently Florida has its primary scheduled for Jan 31 which is a tentative date but most members of congress in Florida are reluctant to change it to something compatible with what the RNC wants.

Michigan will most likely be next to defy the RNC and schedule an early voting primary.

All of these states are likely to be good states for Romney, so I am fully supportive of the changes. The RNC has a major problem on their hands and hopefully these states will start a dialogue with the RNC in order to develop a more fair primary schedule for all 50 states.

The Big 7 Swing States

According to a new analyses by one of the country's prominent electoral college experts, there are seven states that will determine who becomes president in the 2012 election cycle.

Those states are:
Colorado - 9 electoral votes
Florida - 29 electoral votes
Iowa - 6 electoral votes
Nevada - 6 electoral votes
Ohio - 18 electoral votes
Virgia - 13 electoral votes
New Hampshire -4 votes

The big prize is Florida of course with its huge number of electoral votes. However, the Republican candidate is going to have to win almost all of those states in order to win the nomination.

The 2010 census gave more electoral college votes to the GOP by awarding traditionally conservative states more electoral college delegates. That puts more pressure on the Dems to win as many states as possible.

Hispanics will play a huge role in this election. States with large hispanic populations such as FL, NV, CO can expect large efforts to win over the hispanic voting bloc.

A 3rd party candidate could throw a wrench in the balance of power in these seven swing states. If there is a viable third party candidate, the electoral college numbers could be dramatically different. However, not since George Wallace in 1968 has there been a third party appealing to right wing voters. We all remember how Ralph Nader (from the left) caused Al Gore to loose the nomination in 2000 by taking just enough votes in Florida.

Proud to be a Romney Supporter

I just read a great article summarizing the "DeMint Forum" today in South Carolina. I did not have a chance to watch any of the proceedings today so I had to read about it in the news. But I was very impressed with the moderate tone that Romney took today.

While many of the other candidates are constantly trying to outdo one another in how libertarian and far right they can be, Romney refuses to take the same approach. Romney came across as a moderate pragmatist and a problem-solver rather than a divisive ideologue looking for yet another confrontation that will take the country to the brink of crisis yet again.

I think the country is tired of the extreme partisanship in Washington these days and Romney is representing the moderates of the Republican party, the "silent majority" who so often get overlooked.

Can Perry Criticize RomneyCare?

A good article on The Hill describes the difficulty Perry will have in attacking Romney on health care.

#1) Perry leads a state that has the highest uninsured rate in the country. Contrast that with Romney who helped Massachusetts become the state with the lowest uninsured rate in the country.

#2) 10th Amendment - Perry has said that he strongly supports states rights in crafting their own solutions to their own problems. Perry has even stated that MA had every right to do what it did.

#3) A letter Perry wrote to Hillary Clinton is making headlines because in the letter Perry lauds the Ms. Clinton for her efforts to reform healthcare.