Confederate Yankee (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
It seems the stress of the health care debate is getting to the delicate Steve Benen of The Washington Monthly today, as he hysterically tries to explain to us that those protesters descending upon Capitol Hill today to do rhetorical...
Zandar Versus The Stupid (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
Steve Benen might be giving Shelly Bachmann too much credit , but she is leading her little field trip de Teabag into the halls of Congress on the Fifth of November. And when has Bachmann scheduled her Capitol Hill soiree? This afternoon -- November 5 -- a date widely known as Guy Fawkes Night . (You know, "Remember, remember, the fifth of November.") In other words, Bachmann...
Zandar Versus The Stupid (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
For your consideration : As everyone now knows, Bill Owens will be the first Democrat to represent New York's 23rd since the mid-19th century, after defeating Doug Hoffman yesterday. This got me thinking about the representation of the region. New York has 29 congressional districts. As of today, the state is represented by 27 Democrats. As recently as a few years ago, Dems had "only" 21...
Later On (Free subscription) | 7 hours ago
Steve Benen: When you listen to House members talk about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s ability to set the legislative calendar and count votes, they speak with a certain reverence. There’s an implicit understanding: the Speaker knows what she’s doing. Ezra Klein had a good item this afternoon on this point, highlighting the fact that Pelosi oversaw House [...]
Good People Better Rise Up! (Free subscription) | 8 hours ago
Via Steve Benen, here's something from Paul Begala written last August that should be kept in mind as the debate over the Stupak Amendment unfolds over the next few weeks: No self-respecting liberal today would support Franklin Roosevelt's original Social Security Act. It excluded agricultural workers -- a huge part of the economy in 1935, and one in which Latinos have traditionally worked....
Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog! Go! (Free subscription) | 13 hours ago
Steve Benen today: Roosevelt, the towering political figure of the...
Gerry Canavan (Free subscription) | 10 hours ago
... trend.” Extremely disturbing. Palin '12! (And '16, and '20, and '24...)! Via the essential Steve Benen, our debunker of the unthinkable: In our reality, however, Sarah Palin doesn't have the foggiest idea what she's talking about. In 2005, a Republican Congress commissioned a new dollar coin, which was approved by a Republican president. In the proposed design, "In God...
Gerry Canavan (Free subscription) | 14 hours ago
Via Steve Benen , I see that Paul Krugman's column today addresses a particular concern of this blog over the last few months, the long-term consequences of a GOP "taken over by the people it used to exploit": In the short run, this may help Democrats, as it did in that New York race. But maybe not: elections aren’t necessarily won by the candidate with the most rational...
Kung Fu Monkey (Free subscription) | yesterday
In all the sturm unt drang , easy to lose track of what got in and what didn't. Steve Benen gives you a primer . And, of course, all this has to go to the US Senate, the most undemocratic institution in America. So, you know, this is less than halfway there.
Pensacola Beach Blog (Free subscription) | yesterday
Steve Benen: For all the talk about vulnerable Democrats having to defend their support for reform, let's not overlook the fact that GOP incumbents are likely to hear more about their vote supporting their version of reform again. After all, the Republican plan was pretty ridiculous -- the GOP alternative did nothing for the uninsured, nothing for those with pre-existing conditions, and...
Later On (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
Steve Benen: When House Republicans finally unveiled their health care reform proposal this week, one of the glaring problems was that it did not prohibit private insurance companies from discriminating against consumers with pre-existing conditions. There weren’t even any ambiguities. The Wall Street Journal reported this week, "Minority Leader John Boehner (R., Ohio) said...
Progressive Blue - Front Page (Free subscription) | yesterday
... possible grassroots support in 2010. President Obama spoke to House Dems before the vote. Steve Benen : The House health care reform bill is a solid piece of legislation. It has flaws, and provisions I'd change if it were up to me, but this is, on the whole, a very good bill that would bring vast improvements to a fundamentally flawed system. If this bill were to become law, it'd...
American Power (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
Steve Benen's always good for a partisan laugh, and he doesn't disappoint in his post, " THE EFFECTS OF THE ABORTION 'COMPROMISE' " (via Memeorandum ): As of late yesterday, House Democratic leaders were still short of the 218 votes needed to pass health care reform. Odd as it may seem, after six months of debate, hearings, meetings, and negotiations, the biggest hurdle was...
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 [...]
Zandar Versus The Stupid (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
The big story this morning is last night's deal with the Blue Dogs to strip any and all abortion funding from the House health care reform measure. Today's vote will indeed continue, but Nancy Pelosi has been forced to allow an amendment vote to block not only the public option from being used to pay for abortions, but from any insurance plan offered in the so called health insurance exchange. As Steve...
