Michelle might have it right here.
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The Influence of Lobbyists – Seldom A Good Thing
October 23, 2009 By
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Republican politicians have earned their reputation as heartless asses. That said, here’s a reminder that Democratic politicians are at times no better. The background to the story below can be found here.
HuffPo reports…
An amendment that would prevent the government from working with contractors who denied victims of assault the right to bring their case to court is in danger of being watered down or stripped entirely from a larger defense appropriations bill.
Multiple sources have told the Huffington Post that Sen. Dan Inouye, a longtime Democrat from Hawaii, is considering removing or altering the provision, which was offered by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and passed by the Senate several weeks ago.
Inouye’s office, sources say, has been lobbied by defense contractors adamant that the language of the Franken amendment would leave them overly exposed to lawsuits and at constant risk of having contracts dry up. The Senate is considering taking out a provision known as the Title VII claim, which (if removed) would allow victims of assault or rape to bring suit against the individual perpetrator but not the contractor who employed him or her.
“The defense contractors have been storming his office,” said a source with knowledge of the situation. “Inouye either will get the amendment taken out altogether, or water it down significantly. If they water it down, they will take out the Title VII claims. This means that in discrimination cases, they will still force you into a secret forced arbitration on KBR’s (or other contractors’) own terms — with your chances of prevailing practically zero. The House seems to be very supportive of the original Franken amendment and all in line, but their hands are tied since it originated in the Senate. And since Inouye runs the show on this bill, he can easily take it out to get Republicans and the defense contractors off his back, which looks increasingly likely.”
Inouye is the second longest serving Senator in Congress which is further reason to why Congress needs to impose term limits on its members. Returning the same fools to office for 30 or 40 years makes it too easy for corruption to take hold.
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Chuck Hagel Blasts Republicans
October 23, 2009 By
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Former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel was always one of the brighter lights in a party devoid of much integrity or brainpower.
“If your attitude is wrong, if your intention is to use healthcare to destroy the other party, or to destroy the presidency of Barack Obama, then it’s very unlikely you’re going to find much consensus from people who want to use healthcare.”
“As some Republican senators have said publicly — that if we kill Obama on this, and we destroy this, and we defeat his, that will drive a stake through his political heart on this administration. I just find that about as irresponsible of a thing as I can think of.”
A 19% approval rating for Republicans in Congress is what you get when you have too many Michele Bachmanns and not enough Chuck Hagels.
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Sarah Palin: To Mock Or Not To Mock
October 23, 2009 By
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Sarah Palin is NEVER going to become President of the United States. That is clear. Aside from her fan base which can only be described as delusional and idiotic, Palin has the support of no on else. There is a long list of conservatives who see her as the shallow, feeble-minded buffoon she has shown herself to be. Her inability to see herself as such and her determination to continue on as if there is any substance to her empty and silly thoughts, makes her a target. She begs to be mocked by carrying on her imaginary role of politician with a brain…and mocked she will be.
Yeah, yeah, we heard all about the Sarah Palin’s Book Going Rogue – An American Life to be launched on Nov 17th. They expect to move 1.5 million copies, and pre-orders have been brisk.
We couldn’t let that stand without a fight. There are two sides to every story, but let’s get something clear here – Sarah didn’t write this book either.
So we created an alternative: Going Rouge – The Sarah Palin Rogue Coloring and Activity Book, now available for pre-order, with a launch date of November 17th, just like that other shameless rot. But our book is chock full of mazes (like “Help Sarah find her way to the White House”), puzzles, word games, and brilliant illustrations to color or chuckle over as we mercilessly lampoon and parody everything Palin in 48 pages of hilarity.
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Public Option – It Lives!
October 23, 2009 By
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Positive news for the majority of Americans who understand the importance of a public option being included in the final health care reform bill.
ABC’s Jonathan Karl reports…
The public option. The idea was believed to be dead. Liberals wanted it, but Senate vote counters insisted it simply could not pass the Senate. The dynamic, however, has changed. The public option may be back from dead.
I am told that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is leaning toward including the creation of a new government-run insurance program – the so-called public option – in the health care reform bill he will bring to the full Senate in the coming weeks.
Democratic sources tell me that Reid – after a series of meetings with Democratic moderates – has concluded he can pass a bill with a public option.
Cool. But how does Reid get his 60 votes with Blue Dog Democrats still opposing the inclusion of a public option?
Reid is now convinced that Democratic critics of the public option will support him when it counts – on the procedural motion, which requires 60 votes, to defeat a certain GOP-led filibuster of the bill. Once the filibuster is beaten, it only takes 51 votes to pass the bill.
And Democratic critics of the public option would get a chance to go on-the-record with their opposition by voting for an amendment to strip it from the health care bill. Under Senate rules, such an amendment would need 60 votes to pass. And while there may not be 60 votes in favor of a public option, there are also not 60 votes against it. So, it would remain in the bill.
Very cool.
The bottom line is this. Reform requires a public option if it is going to make any real difference in providing health care to the uninsured as well as competing against private insurers in an effort to bring down the cost of premiums. Add this to the fact that a clear majority of Americans want a public option. So any way it gets done is of little consequence to the greater good of the country.
As for Republicans – screw ‘em. They’ve proven time and again that they have no interest in any type of reform. They’re going to continue yelling and ranting no matter what Dems do. The inclusion of a public option will most likely lose the support of President Olympia Snowe. No big deal.
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