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February 8, 2010

Calling the Republican Bluff

This is all playing out nicely. With this idea of a televised summit, the president called the Republican bluff about listening to their (ridiculous) ideas about healthcare. It's not even 48 hours into the announcement of the idea and the Republicans are already struggling to wiggle out of the thing.

And the latest word via Countdown is that the Republicans won't meet with the president unless reconciliation is taken off the table. Ezra Klein told Keith Olbermann that the president should agree with that demand -- but only if the Republicans agree to an up-or-down vote. No filibuster.

But beyond the finer points of the Republican demands, it's obvious that they simply have no interest in having any summit (televised or not), and they have even less interest in passing healthcare reform.

Bluff successfully called. Flawless victory.

Filed under: Bipartisanship || Healthcare || President Obama || Republicans

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 8, 2010 8:24 PM | Comments (8)

The Sarah Palin Fantasy

The level of delusion about Sarah Palin is staggering. Rich Lowry complete with starbursts:

She's had since September, 2008 to study. And yet she still has to scrawl "tax cuts" on her hand so she won't forget. Dream on, wingnuts.

Filed under: Fox News Channel || Rich Lowry || Sarah Palin

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 8, 2010 8:17 PM | Comments (4)

Republicans Are Blocking the Jobs Bill

I sincerely hope the DNC is readying the midterm commercials about this one. Brian Beutler reports:

Democrats still don't have enough votes to overcome a filibuster, and unless they can win over at least one Republican, they may adjourn this coming weekend empty-handed.
What's the hang up? Republicans are working with Democrats on one key aspect of the legislation: tax breaks for employers who hire new employees. But beyond such a measure, Republicans are balking at supporting a full package. And with Democrats now one vote shy of a 60-vote supermajority, they will need one GOPer to break ranks if they want the package to overcome a filibuster.

The question remains: if the Republicans filibuster a jobs bill in the middle of 9.7 unemployment, and no one makes a big stink about, does it make a sound?

Filed under: Economy || Filibuster || Jobs || Republicans

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 8, 2010 7:20 PM | Comments (3)

Congressman John Murtha Dead at 77

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman John P. Murtha (PA-12) passed away peacefully this afternoon at 1:18 p.m. at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA. At his bedside was his family.

While he wasn't the most honest politician, he spoke out against the Iraq occupation when it was politically dangerous to do so.

Filed under: John Murtha

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 8, 2010 2:55 PM | Comments (7)

Proof the Republicans Don't Intend to Play

Eric Cantor says it's the Republican way or they're not buying:

After going it alone on health care reform for nearly a year, President Obama has decided he wants to bring Republicans into the conversation. Here’s the problem: unless the President and Speaker Pelosi are willing to scrap their government take over and hit the reset button, there’s not much to talk about.
Republicans believe the status quo is unacceptable, but so is any health reform package that spends money we don’t have or raises taxes on small businesses and working families in a recession. To that point, House Republicans have offered the only plan, that will lower health care costs, which is what the President said was the goal at the start of this debate.

I'm very interested to see how this televised summit goes. I simply can't imagine that the president will take seriously anyone who's position includes the Luntz words "government takeover." It's an insult and a distortion, and I don't see any real negotiations happening with this sort of language in the mix. And of course that's fine with me, but we'll see how the president deals with it.

Filed under: Eric Cantor || Healthcare || President Obama

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 8, 2010 2:31 PM | Comments (11)

They Won't Vote for Healthcare No Matter What

Last night, I wrote about the president's attempt at a bipartisan way forward on healthcare and how it's probably just cover to pass the Senate bill and a reconciliation package of fixes. Greg Sargent seems to be thinking the same thing:

It’s possible, though, that this is all about laying the groundwork for pursuing a Dem-only reconciliation solution later. Such an effort, should it happen, will inevitably be portrayed as yet another partisan back-room effort to ram reform through. So perhaps the White House hopes a very public gesture of bipartisanship and transparency now will undercut those attacks and allow Dems to argue that they had no choice but to move forward alone.

I'm looking forward to that moment in the televised summit when the president presses the Republicans on whether they'd vote for the bill. I strongly believe that this is the whole point of the strategy -- expose and emphasize the fact that regardless of what's in the bill, they won't vote for it. This is crucial.

Filed under: Bipartisanship || Healthcare || President Obama

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 8, 2010 9:01 AM | Comments (19)

Final Word on Palin and Name-calling

Sarah Palin with Chris Wallace on name-calling:

Name-calling by anyone, I teach this to my children and you teach it to your children and grandchildren, too. Name calling by anyone is just unnecessary.

Again, name-calling, using language that is insensitive, by anyone, male, female, Republican, Democrat, is unnecessary. It’s inappropriate. Let’s all just grow up.

Literally seconds earlier:

They are kooks. I agree with Rush Limbaugh.

And there you go.

(Adding... Regarding "final word" in the headline, I reserve the right to backpedal on that one.)

Corrected: It was Chris Wallace.

Filed under: Sarah Palin

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 8, 2010 7:19 AM | Comments (8)

Morning Awesome

Uh Huh Her - "Explode"

Filed under: Animation || Awesome || Music

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 8, 2010 6:06 AM | Comments (0)

February 7, 2010

The Big Healthcare Show

I think I'm getting a clearer picture on what the president has in mind for healthcare. I believe the Democrats are pursuing two tracks.

1) They're preparing a strategy to pass the current Senate bill in the House, then concurrently passing fixes via reconciliation. This, I think, is the failsafe mechanism for passing reform. More on this presently.

2) Today, the president announced a bipartisan, bicameral half-day healthcare summit to be held on television (C-SPAN probably) during which he'll make a very public attempt to talk things over with Republicans and Democrats alike. I presume the point of this isn't necessarily to start a new bill from scratch, but to kill some of the GOP's biggest lies while keeping Democrats enthused and on board with passing reform in an election year.

“I want to come back [after the Presidents Day congressional recess] and have a large meeting — Republicans and Democrats — to go through, systematically, all the best ideas that are out there and move it forward,” Obama said in an interview with Katie Couric during CBS’s Super Bowl pre-game show Sunday.
Obama said he wants to “look at the Republican ideas that are out there.”

“If we can go, step by step, through a series of these issues and arrive at some agreements, then, procedurally, there’s no reason why we can’t do it a lot faster the process took last year,” he said.

In a statement, the official said, “What the president will not do is let this moment slip away. He hopes to have Republican support in doing so — but he is going to move forward on health reform.”

Yeah, on the surface, it sounds scary and irritating. More attempts to seem bipartisan -- to listen to the Republicans and attempt to incorporate their ridiculous ideas. But realistically, there's no way they can start from scratch. And there's no way the Republicans will seriously help to give the president a huge political victory.

Plus, let's say they actually start over again with a bipartisan bill that gives insurance to people with pre-existing conditions, accomplishes tort reform and allows insurance companies to sell across state lines. The House won't vote for this. Hell, they'll barely vote for the current Senate bill with hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies for working class Americans. This plan would fail.

I think the president is smart enough to know this. So I think he intends to make an attempt to publicly appeal to the Republicans knowing that an actual bipartisan bill will never pass. And as soon as this self-evident fact is laid bare in practice, Congress will pass the existing legislation. Hence the reason for Reid and Pelosi continuing to hash out a plan for reconciliation.

At least, this is how I see it at this point. Not passing a bill isn't an option. And a bill with Republican votes will never happen in a million years.

My hope at this point is that this game plays out quickly. The president has told us repeatedly that we're racing towards a cliff "just like Thelma & Louise." Such a dire warning doesn't lend itself to waiting many more months trying in futility to appease Republicans.

So get on with it.

Filed under: Bipartisanship || Healthcare || President Obama

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 7, 2010 7:05 PM | Comments (2)

Bill Passing Fever! Catch it! Part 6

President Obama is getting tough on healthcare. Yesterday at the DNC:

"The easiest thing to do right now would be to just say, 'Oh, this is too hard. You know, let's just regroup and, you know, lick our wounds, try to hang on,'" the president told the party officials and activists. "We've had a long and difficult debate on health care, and there are some, maybe even the majority in this town, who say perhaps it's time to walk away.
"But here's the thing, Democrats -- if we walk away, we know what will happen. We know that premiums and out-of-pocket expenses will skyrocket this decade and the decade after that and a decade after that just as they did in the past decade. More small businesses will be priced out of coverage. More big businesses will be unable to compete internationally. More workers will take home less pay and fewer raises. We know that millions more Americans will lose their coverage. We know that our deficits will inexorably continue to grow -- because health care costs are the single biggest driver.

"So just in case there's any confusion out there, let me be clear: I am not going to walk away from health insurance reform. I'm not going to walk away from the American people. I'm not going to walk away on this challenge.

"I'm not going to walk away on any challenge. We're moving forward. We are moving forward. Sometimes, we may be moving forward against the prevailing winds. Sometimes it may be against a blizzard! But we're going to live up to our responsibility to lead."

Bill passing fever! Catch it!

Pass the damn bill, Congress!

Filed under: Healthcare || Pass the Bill || President Obama

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 7, 2010 1:09 PM | Comments (3)

The Contradictions of Sarah Palin

My third and hopefully final Palin post of the day. Last night, she referred to the bailouts as a "slush fund" and "crony capitalism" and "public irresponsibility."

For the record, she supported the bailouts.

She later asked, "Where are the consequences? They who helped us get into this worst economic situation since the Great Depression. Where are the consequences?"

Uh-huh. If the press were allowed to ask her questions, they should ask her if she supports financial regulatory reform and the $90 billion fee on the banks. I would wager that she's against both.

Filed under: Bailout || Economy || Sarah Palin

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 7, 2010 11:18 AM | Comments (21)

Palin: Retard is Okay if it's Satirical

So we now know the rules for "retard" and "retarded." It's okay if it's satirical.

Well, okay. "Retard" as satire is acceptable.

And did you catch the slam against "political correctness" in there? She's promoting political correctness, while criticizing political correctness. She's utterly clueless.

Filed under: Sarah Palin

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 7, 2010 10:20 AM | Comments (16)

Was Sarah Palin Cheating on her Q&A?

There's video evidence here clearly showing a cheat sheet scrawled on the palm of her hand. You decide.

And yet she still said "conventional sources of resources."

UPDATE: Huffington Post provides the photo evidence:

She needed a cheat sheet to remember "energy" and "~~budget~~ tax cuts?" What the bloody hell? These are her two big things and she needed them scrawled on the palm of her hand? Wow. WOW.

Filed under: Sarah Palin

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 7, 2010 7:30 AM | Comments (30)

Morning Awesome

Death Metal Rooster

Filed under: Awesome || Music

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 7, 2010 6:01 AM | Comments (1)

February 6, 2010

Retarded

DougJ:

Even if we can’t use the word “retarded” anymore, at least we’re still allowed to torture and execute mentally disabled people.

Exactly. I wonder how Sarah Palin feels about executing the disabled.

Filed under: Death Penalty || Retarded || Sarah Palin || Torture

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 6, 2010 2:12 PM | Comments (14)

Serious Questions about Question Time

There's a bipartisan movement afoot to formalize the Question Time concept, and I'm kind of ambivalent about it.

Right off the bat, I'm always a little iffy about signing a petition that contains the name Grover Norquist. Would Norquist and the Republicans support such an idea if, say, Sarah Palin were president? No effing way. Will they withdraw their support should some random GOP doof be elected president? Absolutely. The far-right never would've supported such a petition when Bush was president. Here's one reason.

Anyway.

On one hand, I think Question Time is an outstanding idea, and it needs to happen on a regular basis.

The problem is that if it becomes a formalized political event, it's so easy for it to become staged and structured. Questions and answers negotiated in advance. Lights, buzzers and fancy-shmancy stage sets. Time limits. In short: everything bad about TV debates and town halls.

In other words, the effort to formalize Question Time sessions might actually kill the efficacy of Question Time.

The only way to do it, and to preserve its integrity, is to make it entirely spontaneous. Perhaps form an independent, bipartisan commission with rules that both parties, chambers and branches agree to. The commission spontaneously sets random Question Times, with only a few hours notice for those involved. Naturally, the sessions would be set with presidential and congressional schedules in mind. But what I'm suggesting here is more of a pop quiz. When you least expect Question Time -- BOOM! There it is.

Otherwise, there's no point. Politics is so often treated as a show -- especially when it's presented on television. There's very little that can be done to prevent Question Time from taking on the same characteristics.

Filed under: Grover Norquist || President Bush || Question Time || Sarah Palin

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 6, 2010 11:45 AM | Comments (28)

The Wingnut Defense of Monsanto

Some of the wingnut comments under my WalletPop column about Monsanto are predictably dumb.

This writer and the commentators have way too much time on their hands; a problem with seeds that can feed the hungry? sheesh.

Do most of you people really have any idea what you are talking about? So many sheep in the world just hate something because someone more insane and more convincing told them to hate it. [...] Yell about the seeds that are grown and altered so they can feed people in places where there is no rain...

I wrote an entire paragraph preemptively debunking the "Monsanto feeds hungry people" argument, but to put it another way, how does suing farmers for royalties feed hungry people? How does destroying non-GMO crops with mutated super-weeds feed the hungry? How does organ damage due to GMOs help the hungry? Eat all you want -- don't worry about the kidney failure. And by the way, those super weeds killing your crops? You'll need to switch to Monsanto GMOs in order to stop them. And then Monsanto will own your ass. Good luck and God's speed.

If we have to use GMO crops to feed the hungry, and there is no other way to do it, we should at least have some transparency, choice and competition until something better comes along. We need warning labels on foods containing GMOs. Monsanto needs to stop suing farmers. Farmers should be allowed to choose what they do with their seeds and their crops. And no single corporation should be allowed to control so much of the food supply.

That leads me to another point. A couple of commenters argued with my point that Monsanto controls most of our food supply. If 70 percent of our corn, for example, is grown from patented Monsanto GMOs, and corn is in just about every food product, doesn't that indicate that Monsanto controls -- with government sanctioned patents -- most of our food supply? Or least a disproportionately large chunk of it?

Filed under: Food || GMOs || Monsanto

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 6, 2010 10:22 AM | Comments (3)

The Obama Record on the Economy

The red bars represent recession unemployment under Bush, and the blue bars represent President Obama's jobless numbers. (Click to enlarge)

And people are actually thinking about voting for Republicans again? Really?! Not to be rude or anything, but what's wrong with you people?

And that's just "Main Street." What about Wall Street? I made this chart based on the Google Finance stock market ticker a while back. The Dow is steadily hovering above 10,000 now.

So we should what? Vote Republican? That's rich.

Filed under: Economy || Jobs || Stock Market

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 6, 2010 8:01 AM | Comments (8)

Morning Awesome

MST3K Saturday - "The Chicken of Tomorrow"
(Part 2 after the jump)

If you've seen Food Inc. -- oh how things have changed since this film was made.

Continue reading "Morning Awesome"

Filed under: Awesome || MST3K

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 6, 2010 6:09 AM | Comments (0)

February 5, 2010

Bill Passing Fever! Catch it! Part 5

President Obama yesterday:

And then I think that we've got to go ahead and move forward on a vote. We've got to move forward on a vote. (Applause.) But as I said at the State of the Union, I think we should be very deliberate, take our time. We're going to be moving a jobs package forward over the next several weeks; that's the thing that's most urgent right now in the minds of Americans all across the country. And that will allow everybody to get the real facts, both about the health-care crisis that we face, why it's so important for deficit reduction, why it's so important for families all across the country. It allows us to see are there, in fact, some better ideas out there?[...]
But here's the key, is to not let the moment slip away. ... That's why I think it's very important for us to have a methodical, open process over the next several weeks, and then let's go ahead and make a decision.

I'm not so pumped about the "take our time" part, but this is definitely a positive development. The first line is as close to "pass the damn bill" that we're going to get from the president, but it's enough. When he stops talking like this, I'll start to panic.

Filed under: Healthcare || Pass the Damn Bill || President Obama

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 5, 2010 6:24 PM | Comments (10)

The Republican War on Science

This is beyond stupid. The utter cynicism embodied in this spot is staggering. The Republicans are taking their voters for drooling, mouth-breathing nincompoops who will be easily tricked into believing "snow storm in Virginia" equals "cold everywhere on the planet."

To repeat, just because it's snowing on the east coast of the United States this weekend doesn't mean it's snowing and cold everywhere and for all time. Just so we're clear on that.

Republican voters -- if you have even the slightest brain in your head, please realize that your party is attempting to trick you.

Adding... It's cold in my basement. Does that mean global warming is a myth?

Filed under: Climate Crisis || Environment || Republicans || Wingnuts

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 5, 2010 4:03 PM | Comments (14)

Big John Chickenshit

Bock. bock. Bock.

Senate Republicans don’t have much of an appetite to give President Barack Obama their version of question-and-answer time - not after seeing how Obama handled House Republicans last week.
“We’re always happy to hear from the president but I don’t really feel any compelling need to do it [on camera],” Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the Republicans' chief campaign strategist, told POLITICO.

The White House has suggested that it would like Obama to address the Senate GOP Conference, with TV cameras present. Obama administration officials are eager for voters to see Obama operate in a format he relishes – and handle his former Senate colleagues the same way he did last week to House Republicans at their annual retreat.

Asked about the White House invitation to Senate Republicans, Cornyn said: “For what purpose? Was it for photo op or is it serious? The president can invite Mitch McConnell, John Boehner or anybody he wants for a serious talk about issues.”

Wait, I thought Cornyn was a big, bad tough guy cowboy. And he's afraid of a televised Q&A with the president -- who is evidently weak and spindly?

Cowards.

Filed under: Big John Cornyn || Chickenshits || Question Time || Republicans

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 5, 2010 1:48 PM | Comments (11)

The Myth of Bipartisanship

Steve Pearlstein:

After all, if the only things the party in power can accomplish are those that the minority power can agree with, then what is the point of having an election? No matter which side won a majority, "common ground" -- the things they all agree on -- would still be the same.

America is all about the parties not getting along, but with enough swing votes to govern. But "bipartisanship" polls very, very well. Where I think the Obama "bipartisanship" idea is misguided is that they're mistaking what people like to hear with how Washington should actually function.

Meanwhile, the ruling party should do its thing, and make a big effective case for it. The problem with the Democrats is that they're kinda doing their thing while being timid about making a case for it. It's infuriating because their are very obvious cases to be made for the stimulus, healthcare, energy and so on. Cases that would convince even some wingnuts.

Ultimately, I blame the ideology polls that show more conservatives than liberals. These stats are mistakenly taken at face value -- but, issue by issue, Americans are far more liberal than they admit. But because the word "liberal" has been stigmatized for 40 years, many Americans don't want to label themselves as such. If the congressional Democrats understood this, they wouldn't be so flummoxed about selling liberal policies.

Filed under: Bipartisanship || Democrats || Ideology

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 5, 2010 10:17 AM | Comments (5)

Deficit Fear-Mongering

Paul Krugman nails it:

...the sudden outbreak of deficit hysteria brings back memories of the groupthink that took hold during the run-up to the Iraq war. Now, as then, dubious allegations, not backed by hard evidence, are being reported as if they have been established beyond a shadow of a doubt. Now, as then, much of the political and media establishments have bought into the notion that we must take drastic action quickly, even though there hasn’t been any new information to justify this sudden urgency. Now, as then, those who challenge the prevailing narrative, no matter how strong their case and no matter how solid their background, are being marginalized.
And fear-mongering on the deficit may end up doing as much harm as the fear-mongering on weapons of mass destruction.

Even the White House has succumbed to deficit hysteria. The whole "Americans are tightening their belts, and so should the government" is so ridiculous -- unless, that is, it's merely a political feint and not a serious policy initiative. Which case, fine. I'm more concerned with sustaining the recovery, and the way to screw the pooch is to suddenly pull back on spending.

Filed under: Deficit || Economy || One Nation Under Fear || Paul Krugman

Posted By Bob Cesca | February 5, 2010 8:36 AM | Comments (6)