Archive for November, 2009
How to Lose Elections
Obama To Focus on Deficit Reduction Next Year – Political Wire (11/13/09): President Obama “plans to announce in next years State of the Union address that he wants to focus extensively on cutting the federal deficit in 2010 – and will downplay other new domestic spending beyond jobs programs,” Politico reports. “The president’s plan, which [...]
Give The Man A Medal
A Democratic Congressman from Virginia has, hopefully, shamed the vast majority of his colleagues in Congress, by expressing some distinctly old-fashioned beliefs: Rep. Thomas Perriello (D-Va.) looks like he’s making a play for the Democrats’ profile in courage list. Responding to protests outside of his Charlottesville district office, Perriello’s spokeswoman told the Charlottesville Daily Progress [...]
The “One Hand Clapping” Model Of Bipartisanship
What does one call this? Hypocrisy? A double standard? The political paradox of our times? The official Republican position on bipartisanship is evidently: — Democrats are required to display bipartisanship (and to be mercilessly excoriated at all times for failing to do so, even if they actually display it) — Republicans are forbidden to display [...]
Collins Still Optimistic About Healthcare Bipartisanship
Even at this stage of the healthcare debate — which for months now has been not a dialog but a series of interrupted monologues — Senator Susan Collins thinks that the GOP (not just one or two rogue GOP senators departing from Republican orthodoxy, but the GOP as a whole) can play a constructive role [...]
Status Quo
Obama On Jobs, Health Care, and Ft. Hood – ABC News (11/09/09): “I laid out a very simple principle, which is this is a health care bill, not an abortion bill,” Obama said. “And we’re not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is [...]
A Tale Of Two Republicans
Representative Ahn “Joseph” Cao of Louisiana has several times before threatened to defect from the Republican party line on important votes, only to allow himself to be bullied, browbeaten or bribed into the blind obedience that Republican party leaders insist on (and obviously do a pretty good job of enforcing). In the past, though, Cao [...]
It’s Really Not His Fault
(1) Jon Voight, speaking at Michele Bachmann‘s Whites-of-their-eyes Kill-the-bill rally yesterday: His only success in his one-year term as president is taking America apart, piece by piece. Could it be he has had 20 years of subconscious programming by Rev. Wright to damn America? Don’t blame Voight, though, for the nonsense he emits. We have [...]
Survival Of The Fittest
If the Titanic disaster were to happen today, women and children would surely be elbowed off the lifeboats by Wall Street bankers: New York City health officials scrambled to explain themselves on Thursday following outraged media reports about bankers who got scarce H1N1 flu vaccines through their employers. Members of Congress fired off letters demanding [...]
Delayed Reaction
Dean Baker (8/12/07): Congress can just pass legislation that allows homeowners who default to remain in their house as renters, as long as they pay the fair market rent (as determined by an independent appraisal) for their home. Well, of course it wasn’t Congress, but two-plus years later, someone listened: Thousands of borrowers on the [...]
This is Not a Love Song
Happy to have, not to have not Big business is very wise I’m crossing over into E-enter-prize Public Image Ltd. – “This is Not a Love Song” (1984) Making fun of the weak ass public option with a brilliant Public Image Ltd. callback from 25 years ago? Wow. Well done, Mr. Stewart. As Johnny Rotten [...]