The Best Statement on What Dems Need To Do NOW About Healthcare

From my favorite national blog, election projection website electoral-vote.com:

The Democrats are clearly in for bad news in November unless something changes and speeches aren't going to be enough. In particular, if after spending a year trying to get a health-insurance reform bill through Congress, the whole project dies now because the Democrats have only 59 seats in the Senate--a luxury the Republicans haven't had since 1923--many voters will conclude that the Democrats spend all their time bickering with each other and are incapable of governing. Everyone in Washington knows very well what the Democrats have to do, namely, get the House and Senate to stop squabbling with each other over abortion and the Medicaid limit and come to a compromise bill that 50 Democratic senators and 218 Democratic representatives support. Then the House has to pass the Senate bill intact followed by both chambers passing the compromise bill polishing the rough edges, in the Senate via reconciliation, even if that means firing the Senate parliamentarian, Alan Frumin, and replacing him with a Democrat. Some Democrats believe they will be better off in November with no bill than with this bill, but if that were true, minority leader Mitch McConnell would long ago have given Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) permission to vote for cloture in order to pass the bill and thus saddle the Democrats with an awful bill they would have to defend in the midterms. But McConnell knows that some aspects of the bill (like forcing insurance companies to accept uninsured sick children) will kick in the day the bill is signed and are wildly popular, thus giving the Democrats something to campaign on.

59-41 means mandate for GOP?

Remember 2000? With the slimmest majority and contested election, the GOP rammed through legislation using budget reconciliation. Tax cuts were given to the superwealthy while the Democrats stood feckless. The GOP wasn't punished in 2004, in fact, they gained seats.

Then when they wanted to ram through extremist, unqualified, right-wing psycho judges in 2005, they smacked down the Democrats who tried to pull the fillibuster by threatening to go "nuclear". They said they would rewrite the rules to allow 51.

Son of a bitch if the press didn't swallow thier storyline that they just wanted an "up or down" vote and Dems were being "obstructionist". Why couldn't we get it through our thick heads that elections have consequences?!

As always, we capitulated on the worst judges if they promised to play nice.

Well, here we are in 2010. Even with losing MA, we still have the LARGEST MAJORITY any party has enjoyed since 1923!!

And we are the ones who are capitulating!!

I had to listen to Barack Obama give a speech not to long ago, and say off the cuff that "as you know, it takes 60 votes in the Senate to get anything passed".

WTF?!? Why the hell aren't we screaming about straight "up or down" votes?! Unlike in 2005, when we only fillibustered extreme judges, the GOP is fillibustering EVERYTHING!! Tom Coburn, Jim DeMint, and David "Diaper Boy" Vitter fillibuster EVERY SINGLE BILL, even ones that pass 90-10.

Why isn't our spineless leadership raising cane about this??! Why can't we go "nuclear"? What are they gonna do that they haven't done already?

Why don't we use reconciliation to get things through?!? WHY are still playing nice?

We tried bi-partisanship. Baucus wasted months desperately trying to get ONE GOPer to support our obviously broken health-care system. We capitulated on every major point in the Senate Bill thanks to spineless Reid. And what did we get? NOT one GOPer voted for the Senate Bill. One GOPer voted for the House Bill.

So Gibbs is saying we need more bi-partisanship?? WTF??

Pelosi is saying she doesn't have the votes so she isn't going to try to pass the Senate Bill and use reconciliation to fix it...so she's okay with starting over?? WTF??

Obama is STILL refusing to get involved in "the legislative process"?? Says he'll just pass a few token items after ALL OF THIS MESS we went through last year?? WTF??

WTF??
WTF??
WTF??

The largest majority in nearly a century and we are helpless.

THAT is why we lost..and why we will keep losing. Because the base, me, is wondering what the hell is the point to all of this. AFter busting tail in 2008, we can't get one piece of signature legislation because of ONE reasoon...POOR LEADER SHIP!!

I give up. I am no longer a Democrat...

Don't call me until you get your act together.

Hillarious! Conan O'Brian's $1.5 MILLION dollar comedy sketch

NBC is regretting their contractual obligation to foot the bill for Conan's comedy segments. Now that Conan is feeling "vindictive", he just introduced a new "character" to the show (with appropriate theme music):

Hillarious!

Now I Can Say It: I Am Glad Coakley Lost

I almost wrote this earlier today, but I decided I just couldn't attack a Democrat in a crucial election, not with everyone here trying so hard.

But it's over, so I can say it. I'm glad it happened.


I am not a bad Democrat. Far from it.

But this had to happen. Not just because Scott Brown campaigned his ass off while Coakley just assumed it was enough to be Democrat and coast, it had to happen because NOW finally, maybe, we can stop playing the "WE NEED 60 TO GET ANYTHING DONE".

Guess what, we no longer have that excuse.

I remember arguing with people on this very site that we had to capitulate and capitulate and capitulate because we needed 60 votes--otherwise we would get nothing.

I had to suffer and watch everything we worked so hard for last November, including our signature legislation, get held hostage AND REWRITTEN by the likes of Lieberman and Nelson.

I had to watch that coward REID say that he wouldn't do anything without 60 votes, and take Reconciliation off the table.

He wouldn't even THREATEN to alter the ridiculous fillibuster to 55 votes, which would have at least turned the tables a bit during the debate.

Now we have Coburn, DeMint, and the Diaper-Boy Vitter fillibustering EVERYTHING in the Senate, even votes that get 95-5 in the end.

And we Dems see our spineless leadership taking it again and again.

This is not just a wake-up call, this is slamming the alarm clock against the wall.

Here's an idea Rahm and Reid...go give the people what they want and foget the minority! Remember the public option, that had overwhelming support? Maybe throwing it overboard wasn't such a good idea...nor is forcing people to buy insurance and NOT allowing competition!

And you wonder why we lost?

Democrats did NOT just bust their ass and spend their precious time and money November 08 so we could capitulate to the minority party on everything. It was embarrassing. And if Coakley had won, we would have gotten the same treatment on everything: financial reform, climate change, gay civil rights, etc.

We have NO reason to capitulate anymore.

We have NO reason to suck up to Lieberman.

It's Reconciliation or change the rules. Or nothing gets done.

The Dem leadership is going to have to finally learn how to get tough and lead...There is simply NO other alternative.

Tim Tebow, Jim Dobson Can GO F*** Themselves

Really Tebow?

An anti-abortion rights diatribe for a right-wing hate group on Superbowl Sunday? It kills me that the ones who preach the loudest about this issue are the ones who never consider adopting or even contributing to help the thousands of orphans in this state.

Adopt, offer to help, or shut the f*#* up!

Stick to football, dumbass.

PS: CBS should be sued. The Boston Globe cited a letter from CBS to the UCC:

In the letter from the CBS official to the United Church of Christ, the network said it refuses advertising that "touches on and/or takes a position on one side of a current controversial issue of public importance."

Soooo, abortion isn't a controversial issue? A Church that doesn't turn people away is?

Once again, f*^*cked up.

Reid Should Step Down

He frankly should have stepped down a long time ago. He is a weak, pathetic leader. I have said repeatedly that I would prefer to have a 55 or 57 Dem Senate with a strong leader like Schumer or Feingold than a 60 majority with a weakling like Reid at the helm. The health care bill will be better than nothing, (which is all the GOP has to offer), but we gave up way more than we should have. It is inexusable to drop the public option AND keep the anti-trust exemption that allows competition (that was kept for Ben Nelson of Nebraska).

PS--That idiot GOPer Snowe could have stepped up, gotten the goodies for Maine that went to Nebraska, AND succeeded in killing the anti-trust exemption--but got nothing instead.

But by Reid stating up front that he would not even consider Reconciliation (requiring a simple majority) or changing the fillibuster rules, he allowed ALL 60 members of the caucus to be extortionists since they knew he needed EVERY SINGLE one.

He could have also made it clear that any Dem that fillibusters with the GOP would lose their chairmanship, their offices, and other perks. But that was never threatened either.

Essentially, his whole strategy was to be nice and beg every member--ask for anything and he would cave with no penalty. OF COURSE Lieberman was going to shred this--why wouldn't he? And the reform bill became a band-aid. Yes, there is some good things, like no pre-existing condition denial and help for millions who have no insurance: but real reform it is not. The insurance companies still have monopolies--and until that changes, don't call it reform.


Nancy corralled her people and got the majority needed-Reid surrendered before the battle, and the teeth of this legislation has been pulled.

I blame Reid. I knew he was weak when that idiot supported a GOP amendment attacking MoveOn.org three years ago to appease them (why?). Even though Rush Limbaugh attacked our soldiers as "phony" soon afterwards-no amendment there.

He is weak, weak, weak. He should have stepped down years ago for the good of the party. So why the hell would I defend him now when he makes a RACIST comment?

Of course he should leave. Of course it's hypocritical for him to stay on after both Democrats and republicans demanded Trentt Lott to step down for praising segregationist Strom Thurmond.

PS--I don't give a damn if Obama and Jesse forgave him--who the hell appointed them spokespeople for an entire race? I get sick to my stomach when I hear that Reid called "black leaders" to ask forgiveness. Could you imagine if someone claimed to call "white leaders" to represent me? "Well, Ethan Hawke said it was okay...so we're good."

Now Democrats could make a bold statement and show real leadership if they removed him from his post. Hell, he's going to lose anyway. Reid trails ALL of his GOP opponents, and that was before this latest fiasco.

But Reid is not going too step down. We will have to wait until he loses the upcoming election for us to get the Senate leader we deserve.

Crist Admits Senate Campaign Distracts Him

File this under Obvious:

Crist acknowledged "it's certainly possible" that his intense focus on raising millions of dollars as a Senate candidate diverted attention from his duties as chief executive of the nation's fourth-most populous state.

Crist is MIA on every major to minor issue facing this state, because his current position like all of his others are seen only as stepping stones to higher office and nothing more. For most of last year and this year, we will be treated to campaign Charlie as he desperately tries to ward off Marc Rubio instead of making the tough choices he was elected to make.

So more “tax cuts for corporations” and other conservative bullet points while our State sinks deeper into the abyss. (Note to Charlie—our corporate taxes are already among the lowest in the nation. That’s not the problem…but you know that right?) Unfortunately, we will have to wait until November before we have a leader for Florida. I hope its Sink but frankly anybody, including a trained monkey, would be more focused on the state of our State than Charlie is.