Government Bytes (Free subscription) | 11/20/2009
Thank you to the 183 Republicans and Democrats who voted against H.R. 3961, the so-called “Doc Fix” legislation. As many of you know, we had grave concerns with this legislation. Our concerns did not necessarily stem from the underlying policy, but rather the partisan political tactic being played. H.R. 3961 was an underhanded attempt to deceive taxpayers and artificially deflate the cost...
DownWithTyranny! (Free subscription) | 11/20/2009
July 30, 1965, LBJ signs Medicare bill, Truman looks on, Republicans start plotting how to kill the program Yesterday the House voted 243-183 , only one Republican, Michael Burgess (R-TX) joining the Democrats, to pass John Dingell's Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009 (H.R. 3961). The bill will "revise the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) payment system for determining the annual...
SCSUScholars (Free subscription) | 11/17/2009
The "Blue Dog" Democrats, 44 'fiscally conservative' congresspersons, did not acquit themselves well in this year, says the Heritage Foundation, via Stephen Moore : On three votes that would massively expand the size of government -- the stimulus plan, cap and trade, and health care reform -- Blue Dogs mostly were AWOL. "Of the 52 House Blue Dogs, only four voted against all three,"...
Swing State Project (Free subscription) | 11/12/2009
You may remember that in the wake of the 2008 elections, I tried out a new quantitative project, developing an index for predicting vulnerability for House members based on a mix of PVI and previous House election performance. (It turned out to be pretty useful, in that 2006 numbers were pretty predictive of who actually got knocked off in 2008.) I included, of course, what the index would predict...
The Blue Pelican (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704402404574525962492620186.html'mod=rss_Today's_Most_Popular Now, some believe Republicans should have voted "present" on the Stupak amendment, on the grounds that the worse they could make the bill, the harder for Speaker Pelosi to get the magic 218 votes. That's pretty short-sighted, for several reasons. For one thing, in September all but...
The Corner (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
I received a Google alert that my former NR colleague -- I'm accumulating tidbits for the eventual shocking tell-all -- has a new WSJ column (The Man Who Made Pelosi Cry "Uncle") coming out tomorrow, which, by the miracle of modern technology, is available tonight. In the same edition, a Journal editorial excoriates pro-lifers, claiming the Stupak amendment's victory made a bad deal palatable....
The Rehearsal Studio (Free subscription) | 11/09/2009
I was wondering whether or not news behind this weekend's vote on health care reform in the House of Representatives would lead to an early Chutzpah of the Week award. The good news is that I was right: It was pretty easy for find grounds for the award. The bad news, as one might guess from what actually came out of the House, is that this is an award for the negative connotation of chutzpah . Even...
The Nation Blogs (Free subscription) | 11/09/2009
The New York Times has an excellent graphic up today profiling the 39 Democrats who voted against healthcare reform in the House of Representatives on Saturday night. The Times notes that 31 of these Democrats represent districts won by John McCain, as if that's a sufficient excuse. But take a closer look at the numbers. Paradoxically, those Democrats voting against healthcare reform represent constituents...
Open Left (Free subscription) | 11/08/2009
Last night, 23 Democrats voted against providing 36 million Americans with health insurance while reducing the deficit, but in favor of the Stupak amendment to restrict reproductive rights for low-income women. Those 23 Democrats are : Jason Altmire (PA-4); Bobby Bright (AL-2); John Barrow (GA-12); John Boccieri (OH-16); Dan Boren (OK-2); Ben Chandler (KY-6); Travis Childers (MS-1); Artur Davis (AL-7);...
Marc Ambinder (Free subscription) | 11/08/2009
First, some bonuses: = the 39 Democrats who voted against the House bill -- John Adler (NJ) Jason Altmire (PA) Brian Baird (WA) John Barrow (GA) John Boccieri (OH) Dan Boren (OK) Rick Boucher (TX) Allen Boyd (FL) Bobby Bright (AL) Ben Chandler (KY) Travis Childers, Artur Davis (AL)**, Lincoln Davis (TN) Chet Edwards (TX) Bart Gordon (TN) Parker Griffith (AL), Herseth Sandlin (SD) Tim Holden (PA) Larry...
The Liberal Curmudgeon (Free subscription) | 11/08/2009
The Republican tally for House votes in favor of health care reform: one. That one affirmative voter is Representative Anh "Joseph" Cao (left) of Louisiana. Explaining his vote, Cao said : “I read the versions of the House bill. I listened to the countless stories of Orleans and Jefferson Parish citizens whose health care costs are exploding — if they are able to obtain health...
Swing State Project (Free subscription) | 11/08/2009
The House passed the healthcare bill late last night, 220-215. Only one Republican, Joseph Cao (LA-02), voted in favor. Here are the Dems who voted no: District Incumbent District Incumbent District Incumbent AL-02 Bobby Bright MN-07 Collin Peterson OH-16 John Boccieri AL-05 Parker Griffith MO-04 Ike Skelton OK-02 Dan Boren AL-07 Artur Davis MS-01 Travis Childers PA-04 Jason Altmire AR-04 Mike Ross...
Mean Ol' Meany (Free subscription) | 11/08/2009
(I stole this image from EDSBS.) Since I am trying my dead level best to keep a positive frame of mind lately, I find no need to elaborate on these links, let's just throw them into categories and let you sort them out. Trust me, there is NO GOOD NEWS from DC, especially since the Moron Party pushed through the Bill to Kill the Citizenry last night. One moron that infiltrated the Republican Party in...
pas au-delà (Free subscription) | 11/08/2009
Last night Heath Shuler loudly proclaimed: "I do not want my job next year." Votes to poison bill as alleged compromise and then still votes to kill it. Women's rights set back several decades. Unforgivable : The real traitors tonight (Yes on Stupak, No on HCR) by sharedferret Sat Nov 07, 2009 at 09:22:55 PM PST We had a total of 64 Democrats that voted "Yes" to the Stupak amendment,...
Curmudgeonly & Skeptical² (Free subscription) | 11/08/2009
A Courtesy to our Friends at KOS DEMOCRATS WHO VOTED TO SLAP WOMEN BACK TO THE STONE AGE ( HR # Bill: H R 3962 ) KOS diarist LaFeminista reflects the animus the Soros-left have after the passsage of the Stupak Amendment which, nominally, will keep Obamacare from funding abortion. In truth, a Medicare type supplement insurance will be available. Anyway, to help them out, and make retribution easier,...
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