Gibbons’ Official Withdrawal Statement

Today, I am withdrawing from the race for governor for one reason and one reason only, and that is lack of sufficient campaign funds to go forward.

For over a year, we have had a specific campaign plan which called for a budget of $2.5 million – substantially less than what one other campaign will spend and at least slightly less than what two others will probably spend. Our initial goal was to have at least $1.0 million of that by the end of 2009. We fell significantly short of that goal.

via Tom Humphrey Gibbons’ Official Withdrawal Statement.

Have a nice weekend…

The CBO reports what we already knew:

President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget will generate nearly $10 trillion in cumulative budget deficits over the next 10 years, $1.2 trillion more than the administration projected, and raise the federal debt to 90 percent of the nation’s economic output by 2020, the Congressional Budget Office reported Thursday.

Lovely.  So (with apologies to Instapundit) I’ll pose the question on everyone’s mind: is this “hope” or “change”?

Health Care Backgrounder

The most recent issue of National Affairs contained a very insightful article on health care entitled “Health Care and the Profit Motive.”  You can find the whole article here (it’s long, but worth a read).  In the article, author Avik Roy explains the history of health insurance in America, the factors that have brought about our dysfunctional system, and background on the differing views between liberals and conservatives.  While Roy focuses on the economic arguments moreso than concerns over constitutionality and political philosophy, the article is a very helpful.  On the economics, Roy concludes, as I do, that the true solution needs to be based soundly on market principles.  Here is an excerpt:

At the heart of the problem is the rising cost of insurance coverage. Costs are rising because of our existing fourth-party system, driven in particular by the very health-care entitlements that liberals seek to expand. To address that problem, we need incremental reforms to bring about greater market competition. Replacing the entire system with a sweeping government program might feel good — and might seem like a way to address the moral element of the problem — but it simply would not work. Given its economic inefficiencies, it could never be a serious answer to the question of how to fix American health care.

So even if the purpose of our health-care system is both economic and moral, the solutions to its problems must be economic. They should apply market forces, including the profit motive, to curtail the growing cost of health care. As much as possible, they should place the power to make difficult decisions into the hands of patients and their doctors. And they should liberate the forces of medical innovation to increase quality, improve affordability, and extend lives.

Read the whole thing here.

Obama Inspires!

Obama is inspiring black politicians to seek office — as Republicans!

From the Daily Caller via Instapundit:

Dean Nelson says as far as he knows, there have never been as many black Republicans running for Congress as there are this year.

Asked why that’s the case, the vice chairman of the Frederick Douglass Foundation, a conservative group of black people who promote smaller government, pointed to an unlikely inspiration for the Republicans: Democratic President Barack Obama.

“I think with his success, it has given a level of hope and expectation for African-American candidates, whether they’re Republican or Democrat that you know hey, this is something that can be done,” Nelson said in an interview with The Daily Caller.

Because many black conservatives share the same type of political experience Obama had at the state level before going to Washington, Nelson said, many are saying, “doggone it, I should throw my hat into the ring and I might be able to have success.”

Of the more than 30 black Republican congressional and senatorial candidates running for office this election cycle, the Frederick Douglass Foundation held a leadership summit for more than 15 of them this weekend.

“Because [Obama's] policies are so out of touch with most of America I think specifically you have black conservatives that are looking beyond just the image. They’re looking at policy and how it impacts us,” Nelson said.

He also said there’s “a stronger network of visible black conservatives than many have not seen in the past.”

“What we found is a lot of candidates are feeling like, ‘Hey, I’m not an island by myself, there are other black Republicans who are out there who are not afraid to say it,’ and I think that that has given them a greater sense of confidence,” Nelson said.

Is Bill Gibbons dropping out of governors race?

Shelby County District Attorney, and gubernatorial candidate Bill Gibbons is expected to drop out of the race for governor on Friday, March 26th.

According to a statement from his campaign this afternoon, Gibbons, who has been seeking the Republican nomination, will hold two news conferences to offer a significant update on the status of his campaign.

via Gibbons To Drop Out Of Governors Race – WREG.

Tom Humphrey has the AP release:

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Gibbons has scheduled a press conference Friday to announce a “significant update” on the status of his campaign.

Gibbons campaign would not comment Thursday on what he planned to annouce, including whether he would drop out of the race.