Archive for March, 2010
Quote Of The Day
Senator Lindsey Graham, on ABC‘s “This Week“: When it comes to health care, he’s been tone-deaf, he’s been arrogant and they’re pushing a legislative proposal and a way to that legislative proposal that’s going to destroy the ability of this country to work together for a very long time. The “he”, of course, is President [...]
Republicans Pledge To Go On A Diet Till Dinnertime
On Wednesday, House Democrats announced they were declaring a unilateral ban on earmarks for for-profit organizations: House Democratic leaders banned Wednesday the practice of doling out multimillion-dollar, no-bid contracts to private contractors, a move that will shake up the lobbying industry that has come to rely on securing these so-called earmarks for their corporate clients. [...]
I Save The Worst Part For The End
Democrats have just had a great idea. Healthcare reform is so precariously poised that reasonable people can’t even agree whether it’s a coin flip at this point or a long shot. It’s a complicated, messy situation, fragile in the extreme. So, hey, why not just go ahead and complicate it further? Democratic leaders said Thursday [...]
A Real Shot
It’s funny to me that people are speaking about the 2010 mid-terms as if the result wasn’t already baked in: “I think that there is a real shot we are going to get slaughtered in elections this fall if we aren’t leading the efforts to reform Washington. We campaigned in ’06 and ’08, and if [...]
I’m Sure the Pulitzer Committee Will Be Calling Me Any Minute Now
Obama’s liberal base ‘disengaged’ – USAToday (3/10/10): “The energized base which transformed the nation and elected our first black president (is) now disengaged,” Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile says. “If this was September, I would hit the panic button.” [...] Still, signs of trouble for the Democratic majority in Congress are springing up in: Virginia, [...]
Oh-Oh!
This has got to be embarrassing. On ThinkProgress yesterday, Zaid Jilani wrote: Costa Rica’s system of universal coverage is so effective that it actually ranks one slot above the United States in the World Health Organization’s ranking of health systems worldwide while actually spending less per capita than we do. When you click on that [...]
The Elephant In The Healthcare Room
When healthcare reform talk turns to the issue of controlling the runaway increase in our healthcare costs, there’s a lot of talk about the profits and CEO salaries and administrative costs of health insurance companies. And there’s talk about bending the Medicare cost curve over time by subtle and indirect means. For some reason, there’s [...]
Self-defeating Tantrumology?
Remember the uber-tantrum that Sen. Richard Shelby threw five weeks ago? The one that guarantees him first-round induction into the Obstructionism Glory-Hole of Shame when his playing days are over? The fuss was mostly over a $35 billion Air Force contract for refueling tankers: Sen. Richard Shelby’s (R-Ala.) decision to place a “blanket hold” on [...]
The Vast Liberal Media Conspiracy In Action
Last Wednesday, Politico published a pretty devastating story about a fundraising presentation by the RNC: The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on “fear” of President Barack Obama and a promise to “save the country from trending toward socialism.” The strategy was detailed in a confidential [...]
Out Of Whole Cloth And Thin Air
Over the last few days, the Republican noise machine has put on a flawless exhibition of manufacturing a controversy out of nothing but whole cloth and thin air. Those, of course, are the raw materials the Republican noise machine takes pride in working with. Where’s the challenge in working with mere facts? …Republicans are looking [...]