Hey, DSCC: Quit whining about Republican obstruction

Well (0.00 / 0)

I don't see much more good coming out of this except for getting rid of the preexisting condition ban and the portability issues, but maybe the exchange will work out better than I think it will.

I really don't see how seeing Blanche Lincoln go down in flames will help pass any reform unless Halter beats her in the primary and then the race Leans R even more in my view.  I always have these discussions over at Swing State and I still contend my friend seventy or eighty percent of the time is still my friend, especially in a state like Arkansas, Nebraska, etc.  Lieberman on the other hand is just an attention hound.  

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by: ModerateIADem @ Wed Dec 16, 2009 at 07:02:17 AM CST

I would rather roll the dice on Halter (0.00 / 0)

Lincoln stands in the way on most of the important legislation and is in trouble against third-stringers. I think Halter has a better shot.

Also, if Lincoln lost to either Halter or a Republican, Debbie Stabenow would take over the Ag Committee, which would be very good.

Regarding health care reform, they could end the pre-existing conditions stuff without creating an elaborate scheme for transferring tax dollars to profitable companies.

Invite other Iowa political junkies to join us at Bleeding Heartland.

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by: desmoinesdem @ Wed Dec 16, 2009 at 07:49:51 AM CST

[ Parent ]

NE/AR (4.00 / 1)

The Omaha World Herald has been on a wild editorial tear against Nelson. Their position is that if HR passes, Nelson is to blame for having allowed debate in the senate. All of a sudden, BVP's attack on Branstad makes more sense, to the extent that this is possible, of course. The OWH is the paper of record in western IA.

I've read that NE polls very much against reform, close to 2-1.

Lincoln's problem is that her base in past elections has been seniors.

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by: ragbrai08 @ Wed Dec 16, 2009 at 08:16:33 AM CST

[ Parent ]

I also received an email from the DSCC (4.00 / 1)

with subject line: Sarah Palin

It's "from" John Kerry. He warns (sometimes in bold):

Dear ragbrai08,

Think GOP obstruction is bad now? Just imagine what Washington would look like if a bunch of new senators - inspired by Sarah Palin and the tea party crowd - took over.

wouldn't look much different -- r08

Either we match the passion and activism of these new forces in the Republican Party, or they'll be choosing who's sitting in the Senate, steering our country's course. If we don't match them dollar-for-dollar, we will lose Senate seats in 2010. And the loss of even one or two would flip crucial votes in their favor and doom President Obama's agenda.

blah-blah

In case you doubt the seriousness of this situation, here are a couple of examples:

   *  The leading GOP Senate candidate in Connecticut, Rob Simmons, has been running around the state with a tea bag hanging from his rearview mirror, and he carries a copy of the United States Constitution with a tea bag attached. Such tactics might seem silly. But they're working.

perhaps they are working because some of us are thinking that a good old-fashioned review of civics is in order. Perhaps Democrats should lead on this. Teabags are optional. --r08

The best chance we've had in generations to make positive change will have ended.

whose fault is that? --r08

I know better than most what these Republicans are capable of - and the high cost of not taking immediate action. It's not too late to stop them from derailing the President's agenda. But we need your help - and today is not a moment too soon.

no sale. your first mistake was the subject line. got other things to worry about right now.

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by: ragbrai08 @ Wed Dec 16, 2009 at 08:30:09 AM CST

Dear Ragbrai08 (4.00 / 1)

You wrote, and I quote:

Think GOP obstruction is bad now? Just imagine what Washington would look like if a bunch of new senators - inspired by Sarah Palin and the tea party crowd - took over.

wouldn't look much different -- r08

You tickle the shit outta me sometimes, you certainly do.

I loved the ABC headline of Howard Dean's interview:

Howard Dean: Health Care Bill 'Bigger Bailout for the Insurance Industry Than AIG'

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by: EltonDavis @ Wed Dec 16, 2009 at 08:56:09 AM CST

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Victorian (4.00 / 2)

deference society is in full swing here. I'm not skeeeered.

Dunno about HD. I wonder if he just defines the range of permitted dissent. For example, last week he decided that the Medicare buy-in was "good enough" to make this honest reform. Uhm ... no. I just wonder if later this week he'll be the rubber stamp for whatever they tack on "for progressives." We shall see.

I know I sound very suspicious, but I'm tired of these BS storylines, and the latest -- Lieberman has hijacked the nation! -- is just repulsive. What a group of nasty cowards.

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by: ragbrai08 @ Wed Dec 16, 2009 at 11:03:05 AM CST

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well, today Feingold came out and said (4.00 / 1)

this bill is the bill Obama wanted, and they had plenty of opportunities to strengthen it if the White House had any interest.

Invite other Iowa political junkies to join us at Bleeding Heartland.

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by: desmoinesdem @ Wed Dec 16, 2009 at 14:23:33 PM CST

[ Parent ]

you know perfectly well (4.00 / 1)

that I've always viewed this as the Obama-Daschle bill, so no argument from me.

My objection is to the employment of what I'd call court Jew agitprop. Shame on all participants. Yesterday there was some tamping down, some pullback, but too late, of course. In the olden days one needed gossipy villagers and some pamphlets, but the internet is far more efficient, so LieberCare it is. It's always this Lieberman-Emanuel axis responsible for screwing the pee-pul. I actually read at OL the other day that we should scrutinize Lieberman's expensing a quarter ($0.25) to understand the motivation for his behavior. What Arendt once called the shifting of slander is now in place to appeal to the more susceptible.

Now what they're trying to jam down our throats is some perversion of tikkun olam. We're bad people if we don't sign up for extending insurance (I didn't say health care!) to the uninsured. In one article, I read that CT rabbis are lobbying Lieberman -- like the Catholic bishops, they need to step away.

In the context of public policy, tikkun olam is merely an optimization goal but whether multiple interests are balanced, a requirement, is in the details of the allocation, which the rabbis are not equipped (at least not without a lot more work) to judge. They would have to consider that Save! Lives! resembles the hostage-taking question. Jewish law does not justify creating non-uniform imbalances/injustices elsewhere in society to save lives.

It is particularly poisonous in a climate where we are told to ignore 1/5 of the nation because their opposition to government policy is rooted in the "isms." The same people who tell us:

The mission of progressives (not just Obama) is to find ways to prevent the angry minority tone from spreading, to hold the contagion. Most citizens want to be heard and have grievances of their own.

are also the ones who rushed to discredit Taibbi's work. Given that CAP is a hiring pool for the administration, it's a slippery slope.

Even if objection to govt policy is rooted in the "isms,"

"It is better to allow those who preach racial hatred to expend their venom in rhetoric rather than to be panicked into embarking on the dangerous course of permitting the government to decide what its citizens may say and hear."

ACLU v Skokie, IL (1978)

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by: ragbrai08 @ Thu Dec 17, 2009 at 07:44:42 AM CST

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