5Vote!
Later On (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
Steve Benen: Matt Yglesias flags this item, which is a reminder as to why conservative Democrats so often stand in the way of effective policymaking. Democrat Ben Nelson, a Senator from Nebraska, said the slumping economy and rising joblessness will be factors as Congress considers climate change and health care legislation. They are also driving concerns about [...]
3Vote!
Heartache with Hard Work (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
1. "The problem with gay marriage is unelected courts trying to impose their will on the people. Our problem isn't with the content of the decision, it's with the process by which it was made." The bigots won their vote in Maine, so can we lay this one to rest for good now? The reason people have a problem with gay marriage is that they have a problem with gay people. That's all there is...
7Vote!
The Sideshow (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
No one could have predicted that, for the first time in history, war might not be a barrel of laughs for the troops. (Also: I sure wish the Dems had made the Republicans ditch the filibuster when they had the chance.) Oh, yeah, Pelosi got a couple more Dems, and one campaigned on getting a public option . We'll see what that means. What we need, of course, is a big fat public works stimulus that puts...
11Vote!
The Plank (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
Paul Krugman's column today is about how the stimulus was too small. I agree entirely. What I find puzzling is his apparent belief that teh Obama administration is the primary culprit for this shortcoming. Here's Krugman: But while health care won’t be Mr. Obama’s Waterloo, economic policy is starting to look like his Anzio. ... President Obama came into office with a strong mandate and...
7Vote!
Bench Memos (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
2003 —Senate Democrats continue their unprecedented measures of obstruction against judicial nominees, as they defeat for the second time an effort to end their filibuster of President George W. Bush’s nomination of William H. Pryor, Jr., to a seat on the Eleventh Circuit. Only two Democrats—Zell Miller of Georgia and Ben Nelson of Nebraska—vote in favor of the cloture motion,...
+Vote!
What's Left in the Church (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
I haven't been posting a whole lot lately because, for one thing, I've been busy. Another reason that keeps me from doing more is an on-going frustration that seems to have no resolution. With commanding majorities in both Houses of Congress and a President elected with the largest plurality in decades, the Democrats continue to act as if they are the minority part, as if their ideas were suspect from...
7Vote!
TalkLeft (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
The Congressional Budget Office (PDF) has preliminarily scored the Republican health care alternative proposal. Not surprisingly, the GOP plan is a joke. But it is also a sideshow. There is apparently only one Republican who might vote for health care reform. Her name is Olympia Snowe. What I would like to see is her plan submitted to the CBO for scoring. Because the only plan competing with the current...
11Vote!
Daily Kos (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
In an otherwise good news article about how yesterday's election doesn't change anything in ConservaDems' Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu's attitude toward the need to enact healthcare reform, there's this: Though she's not ready to support the public option in the Senate bill, Landrieu says that, thanks to moderates, it's much improved. "The public option, because of the moderates, and because...
7Vote!
The Political Carnival (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
By GottaLaff “MartyEisenstadt” poses for a photo with Sen. Joe Lieberman - moments before Lieberman and Blue Dog Dems invaded Sen. Ben Nelson’s office for some arm-twisting. UPDATE: In comments, Eitan Gorlin just clarified: In talking to Wolfrum, I may have gotten caught up in the excitement of my own speculation. The only thing I am sure of is "moderates" I mentioned met...
11Vote!
Daily Kos (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
The crappy idea that just won't die is back, now courtesy Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu . "There's a possibility that [triggers could make a comeback]," said Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE). "Right now, we don't know what the actual version of the plan is, because it hasn't come back from CBO...so I think when we get that back, we'll take a look and see what the scoring is, and maybe figure out...
5Vote!
Booker Rising (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
Senate Moderates Flex Muscle On Health Care Bill Moderate lawmakers are exerting their influence in the divided U.S. Senate to secure changes to health-care reform legislation, potentially adding more delays to a bill that has already missed several announced deadlines. Although they have yet to achieve the "gang" status accorded to previous centrist coalitions, a dozen or so moderate Democrats...
7Vote!
Red State (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
We heard about a billion times that the events in NY-23 proved that the GOP is divided and wants to get rid of all the moderates. Funny that this AP story doesn’t appear until right after the election is over. Get on the health overhaul bandwagon, or don’t count on our help in your re-election. That’s the hardball message liberal groups are hurling at moderate Democratic senators...
10Vote!
The Huffington Post (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
What can we expect from a President who presides over a relatively conservative public, whose party is fractured by a fundamental contradiction, and whose legislative agenda is held hostage by Ben Nelson?
6Vote!
Tom Nelson (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
Obama to push harder for climate change deal at Copenhagen | The Australian Asked what impact Ms Merkel's speech might have on the US debate, Senator James Inhofe, the top Republican on the committee looking at the climate legislation, said: “None whatsoever.” Democrat Ben Nelson was similarly blunt, answering the same question with a simple “no”. [We're saved! Actress attempts...
5Vote!
Patent Docs (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
By Donald Zuhn -- On October 23, twelve Senators sent a letter to Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), asking the Senate majority leader to "support the establishment of a responsible pathway for the approval of follow-on biologic treatments, or 'biosimilars,' that ensures patient safety and includes 12 years of data exclusivity." The letter, which was signed by Mark Udall (D-CO), Christopher Bond (R-MO),...
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