Monday Musings: March 15, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 22:14 Normally, I don’t care much for daylight savings time. I just got shorted an hours sleep and could wake up a little cranky, but since I was going skiing Sunday … well, the snow was perfect and the temperatures just a tad warmer by the time we got there today.
DST gets a pass from me this time.
This week promises to be interesting, if only for the possible House vote on health care reform. It looks like it could happen, but I’m afraid to be as positive as White House spokesman Robert Gibbs:
The Sunday morning political shows balanced Gibbs’ message with the likes of Sen. Lindsay Graham (Hysterical little girl from South Carolina), who is certain - absolutely CERTAIN - that passing the measure by reconciliation will ‘poison the well’ of bipartisanship and the sun will explode.
Huh? Has this nimrod noticed what’s been going on at all?
Actually, he has, but he’s still out there trying to peddle the same tired old hyper-partisan rhetoric (“If you don’t want to do it our way, it’s because you’re a Socialist!”) and twisted facts (“Look! Black is really White!”) that seem to appeal to the rights’ populist lemmings.
Oh, and Graham was more than happy to vote using reconciliation when it was in his party’s interest.
If you want a really good picture of how this country would turn out at the hands of the right, take a look south - toward Mexico.
An American Counselate employee and his wife were gunned down by drug cartel types - free enterprise Mexican style - as they drove down the street with their baby in the backseat.
You still have time to contact your Representatives and tell them “Vote for the damn bill”.
Here’s where the problems are, courtesy of Talking Points Memo:
Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-NY) says he’ll vote no without “drastic changes” in the Senate bill. His concerns are the comprehensiveness of the bill; the use of reconciliation to make changes; and that it calls for taxing health benefits.
Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA) sent a letter to supporters yesterday detailing his problems with the Senate bill. One of his concerns is using the “complicated and dangerous process” of reconciliation to fix the bill. (Late update: Capuano sent an email to supporters today saying he wants to vote yes, but he still has “some questions about the Senate bill.”)
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) said in a statement today that he plans to vote no “at this time.” He’s demanding changes to the bill’s immigration language, arguing that the current bill would bar some immigrants from buying private insurance with their own money.
Other congressmen have said they won’t vote for the Senate bill as is, including Reps. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Dan Lipinski (D-IL). Another, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) wrote a letter to President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi detailing her concerns about the Senate bill, namely the expansion of Medicaid.
And then there’s Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) and the 12 congressmen he claims will vote against health care if there’s no language explicitly prohibiting the use of federal funds for abortion. Although it’s unclear exactly who those 12 are, and how committed they are to the threat, we have some idea on who might vote no.
Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA), the only Republican to vote for the House bill the first time around, says he’ll vote against any bill without abortion language. Rep. Marion Berry (D-AR) says the same, and Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH) has a statement to the same effect on his web site.
These people need to quit making this a referendum on abortion, for one thing, and get on board.
On another note, I laughed out loud this morning, when I read about the Utah House Majority Leader, Kevin Garn. He’s quitting you see. One more holier-than-thou rightwinger who has a past. In this case, it’s a past that’s following him.
The legislator apparently did a bit of nekkid hot-tubbing back in the day with an underage girl. That girl is now a woman and she’s willing to spill the beans. Garn is reported to have paid her to shut up, to the tune of $150k. This guy must be related to Sen. John Ensign.
Garn claims there was absolutely ‘no touching’.
Sure.
He just likes to watch.
Reader Comments (1)
I totally agree, maven, on these idiot elected officials and their own little slick agendas.
The problem they cannot see is they are paying attention to particular trees. But they fail to see there is a whole forest of trees out there stretching as far as the eye can see out to the horizon. The issues of immigration, abortion, etc., etc., are all indeed important issues. But the MAIN point here is affordable, fair and comprehensive health care for ALL Americans. It's a totally broken system that don't work, not only for the U.S., but for individuals within the U.S. This need to change is and should be paramount, the sole focus. The ones with their own pet peeves need to really understand that for their change to happen, THIS legislation must happen first; something to set in stone as the base; THEN build on this other stuff. They fail to realize they are legislators; that things can't be how they want it from the get go; and they can always change things later. This is called leading and governing. Shit they're supposed to be doing. To complain is one thing, but to offer no solutions is another. (Note: Witness Bart Stupak and his idiot ramblings to get in the limelight. That man is of no consequence and his whole deal with going overboard on abortion in the bill has been revealed that he is like Don Quixote, fighting windmills.)
In other words, to just say no, fuck it, I'm not voting for it because my own little particular concern is not addressed; those people are doing a total disservice to the greater good.
In a way, I envy the Republican Party. They are clear cut in their goal. No, no, hell no, won't vote for it, obstruct the shit out of it, filibuster, filibuster, filibuster, reconciliation is bad, misname it the nuclear option to make it sound worse, never will vote for it, threaten Democrats with political suicide if they vote for it, and if it passes, we'll even try to throw monkey wrenches in it, political party comes first, screw this bi-partisanship crap, and anyone in our party that breaks away and votes for it, we'll boil them in oil, tar, feather and adorn them with sheep droppings. At least they are together and united in their scorched earth policy, even though I disagree with them.
Pass this fucking bill! You owe it to the President! And not only to him, you owe it to your constituents and the entire American people, whether they want it or not!