The Obama White House has released the latest installment of its ongoing and self-congratulatory video series, West Wing Week. But despite touting itself as “your guide to all things 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.,” the new episode seems to be missing some of the key stories that have hit the headlines over the past few days.

There’s no mention, for instance, of Benghazi or the AP phone tapping – and the IRS scandal is barely mentioned in passing.

Perhaps the White House is just...

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Spending Daily | May 17, 2013

“Report: Leader Of IRS Office That Targeted Tea Party Now Runs ObamaCare Office”

The Washington Post, “The woman who ran the office accused of targeting Tea Party groups is now running the office tasked with implementing ObamaCare. ABC News reported Thursday that Sarah Hall Ingram, the former director of the office that oversaw tax-exempt organizations during the alleged targeting of conservative groups, now leads the office in charge of the Affordable Care...

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Lots more:

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Obamacare: A Study in Broken Promises

From Cathy McMorris Rodgers and the House Republican Conference:

CHARGE: “You should know that once we have fully implemented, you’re going to be able to buy insurance through a pool so that you can get the same good rates as a group that if you’re an employee at a big company you can get right now — which means your premiums will go down.”(President Obama, speech in Cincinnati, Ohio July 16, 2012)

RESPONSE: Nothing could be further from the tru...

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After $1 trillion in new taxes and more than $2 trillion in new spending, three years later the Democrats’ law has failed to deliver on the promise of affordable health care for Americans.

Instead, American families and businesses are facing the tough and costly realities of ObamaCare: higher health insurance premiums, the loss of the health plan you have and like, lower wages, and less hiring and business expansion.  Now, on the eve of the 37^th vote in the House to repeal all or some of t...

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And “now the story of a dysfunctional Democratic majority that’s costing American jobs, and the one president who had no choice but to make it worse.”

From Speaker Boehner’s office:

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The Obama administration’s tax policies have been an attack on farm and ranch families. The tax and spenders fail to understand that taxes punish the very things we want more of: productive work, risk-taking and success. In essence, this administration wants to see less productive work, fewer goods and services provided, fewer jobs created, and ultimately less success in our country.

Beginning this year, Obamacare or what I sometimes refer to as the Un-affordable Care Act, will impose enormous...

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It’s Already Over for the Obama Administration

Second term presidents usually get almost two years to pursue their agendas before the midterm elections and the next presidential election cycle slams the door.

For President Obama, the second term timetable has been cut short. Next week marks only four months since Obama took the oath of office to begin his second term and it is already over. He’s a lame duck walking way before his time.

This is no idle prediction. The administration is mired ...

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HHS Seeks Insurance and Healthcare Industry Funds To Promote Obamacare

In Barack Obama’s Washington it’s a new scandal every day, with the Secretary of Health and Human Services joining the chorus-line led by the former Secretary of State and the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service.

Kathleen Sebelius, the boss at Health and Human Services, is responsible for implementing Obamacare. It’s a tough job, with a deadline of October 1 to have the insurance exchanges up and running and ...

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The Hot Spot is Western Free Press’s forum for letters to the editor and opinion pieces submitted by readers. If you would like to submit a piece for consideration, email us at hotspot@westernfreepress.com. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of Western Free Press.

By Michael Cahill

The unintended effects of Obamacare

On Jan. 1, 2014, President Obama’s Affordable Care Act will fully take effect, and whether or not it’s the right move for ...

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President Obama was in his element in the White House Friday, relishing the role of Campaigner in Chief in a new effort to save Obamacare.

The scene was familiar. First there was the grandeur of the East Room, a reminder of the pomp and power of the presidency. Second was the usual human backdrop of supporters gathered to exploit the message of the moment. Third was the president himself, speaking with vigor and even anger to defend the righteousness of his cause.

The event was staged to kick of...

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Another Massive Program Without Public Support

Congress is about to make the same mistake with immigration reform that it did with Obamacare: Pass a massive program that lacks support among the voters.

Politicians live and die by the polls. They obsess over polls at election time, but they also follow polls closely as they consider crucial votes.

Not so with Obamacare. Democrats ignored public opinion throughout the healthcare debate in 2009 and passed the law on party line votes in early 2010. ...

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Spending Daily | May 7, 2013

“Promises, Promises: When Obama’s Promises Conflict”

The Associated Press reports, “Absent a magic potion or explosive economic growth, it was all but inevitable President Barack Obama would have to break some of his campaign promises to keep others. If there’s one thing that distinguished them besides their ambition, it was their incompatibility. Cut a staggering $4 trillion from deficits while protecting big benefit programs, subsidizing more hea...

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Getting Glitch-y Wit It

This past Tuesday President Obama told reporters that there will most likely be some ‘bumps’ and ‘glitches’ in the rollout of the Affordable Health Care Act legislation. But some in his party have another word for it: “train wreck.” While businesses, investors and individuals are expressing fears about changes to the law, Congress is trying to jump the tracks with its own exemption. With the law’s supporters even bracing for impact, it seems implementing ...

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The President Spins as Public Support Tanks

As public support for Obamacare falls to one of the lowest levels since the bill was passed, the president now shows serious signs of denial about the failures surrounding implementation of the law.

In a White House press conference Tuesday, Obama reacted to reports that a growing number of Democrats are growing nervous over the impact of Obamacare on their reelection chances next year.

The president pushed back hard, responding with a long-winded answ...

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We know Obamacare is on the rocks when the New York Times, the flagship of the mainstream media, is compelled to report growing concerns about implementing the complex and unpopular law.

In a headline Monday that deserves consideration for a Pulitzer Prize in journalistic understatement, the Times said, “Next Big Challenge for Health Law: Carrying It Out.”

The Times story was a balanced account of the pros and cons of Obamacare, careful to give both sides of the law’s chances for success ...

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