John Thune

We are concerned that taxpayer dollars were used to produce an inaccurate and misleading brochure entitled “Medicare and the New Health Care Law—What It Means for You,” recently issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). We believe by selectively providing information, you are misleading seniors about the full impact of the new federal health care law.

When they weren’t trying to orchestrate massive new taxes on health care, Democrats in Congress spent much of last year trying to push through massive new energy taxes. They jammed their scheme, called cap-and-trade, through the House before the Senate heard the opposition of the American people and the legislation stalled.

The plan Democrats devised would have raised the price of energy and every product or service that uses energy — in other words, pretty much everything. It would have destroyed jobs, expanded the federal bureaucracy and done almost nothing to help the environment or to reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, told the crowd there are two competing visions about the future of the country.

"One consists of more government and less freedom, and one consists of less government and more freedom," he said. "And right now, unfortunately, the prevailing vision in Washington D.C. is that of government. More and more government."

A lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court is a serious matter, and Ms. Kagan and the American people deserve a fair hearing and a thorough examination of her background and legal record. Our Constitution and laws must be what guide the decisions of our Supreme Court justices, not political inclinations or personal feelings. While I opposed Ms. Kagan’s previous nomination to be Solicitor General, I look forward to carefully reviewing her qualifications and record from throughout her career. I am particularly interested to see if she would be a judge who is committed to applying the law as it is written, as opposed to legislating from the bench. Given that Ms. Kagan does not have a judicial record, it will be especially important for Senators to inquire as to her views on the Constitution and the role of the Court.