Happy Hour Roundup: Reid Not Seriously Considering “Reconciliation”
* Senator Harry Reid set off a bit of a stir by saying this yesterday about the possibility of doing health care through the Dem-only reconciliation process: “Sure, it’s always an option.”
But Reid spokesman Jim Manley says his boss was only repeating what he’s said for months, and adds that it’s not seriously being considered. “It’s always been an option, but the only thing we are focused on right now is trying to get 60 votes for the strongest bill possible,” he emails me.
********************************************
* The White House goes easy on Joe Lieberman.
* Worth recalling that 68% of Lieberman’s constituents in Connecticut, including 73% of independents (Joe’s brand!), favor the public option. Which, of course, will cause Lieberman to immediately reconsider his opposition.
* The Dem leadership is ripping into Evan Bayh for claiming that there’s no difference between a procedural and a straight up-or-down vote on health care. A senior leadership aide emails:
Not sure Senator Bayh is in any position to outline or set a precedent for the caucus. Needless to say, this is not a view that is shared by very many of his colleagues.
* And it turns out that Bayh has not always voted the same way on cloture and the up-or-down to begin with.
* Only a tiny minority of independents, 11%, sees health care as a top priority, though a majority of indys does trust Obama on it.
* A good question from David Kurtz: What happened to Nancy Pelosi’s claim that she had the votes for the robust public option?
* Top House liberal Raul Grijalva is refsuing to back down in response to the news that House Dems leaders are likely to go with the less robust public option. “I am not rolling over,” Grijalva said in a statement.” I will insist on a Medicare+5 amendment on the Floor so that the full Caucus can vote on it.”
* Despite accusing a reporter of misrepresenting him, it appears that Jon Kyl, the number two GOPer in the Senate, did in fact say that he’s open to a form of the public option.
* Some pretty wild dirty tricks from the right in the free-for-all House race in NY-23.
* And here’s the press release of the day, from GOP Rep Mike Pence:
Pence Denounces President’s Support for Hate-Crimes
Pence, obviously, meant to denounce Obama’s support for hate-crimes legislation.
Got anything else?
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Regulating Banks.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/cartoons/gallery/77765.html
And in Iowa, Steve King faces a challenger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wncyTcCwe08&feature=player_embedded
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/washington/story/77928.html
“WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed the first major piece of federal gay rights legislation, a milestone that activists compared to the passage of 1960s civil-rights legislation empowering blacks.”
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/77926.html
“Health care bills would limit out-of-pocket costs
WASHINGTON — Consumers would be spared having to pay huge medical bills under Democratic health care legislation that’s moving through Congress, as lawmakers agree on the need to put limits on how much people would pay out of their own pockets.
“There will be a cap on annual expenditures, out-of-pocket expenditures,” Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the majority leader in the House of Representatives, declared this week.”
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/v-print/story/77922.html
“Iraqis’ election-law battle rages over status of Kirkuk
BAGHDAD — Up against the clock, Iraqi politicians spent Wednesday hammering out the final sticking points of an election law they hope to present to parliament for a vote within days to avoid a risky and embarrassing delay of the January polls.
How to handle the oil-rich city of Kirkuk remains the key snag, several Iraqi officials said. The debate now hinges on whether election administrators will count voters based on the city’s 2009 population, which would favor Kurds, or include residents from 2004, which would boost Arab representation in the divided city.
A senior aide to the speaker of parliament said there was serious talk of bringing the issue to a vote Thursday, despite the opposition of Kurdish politicians, who seek more time to ensure their interests are addressed.”
all, check out link I just added re Mike Pence. Priceless.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/254/v-print/story/77908.html
THE NAKED AND THE DEAD!
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/254/v-print/story/77908.html
“More family values: ex-S.C. GOP official caught with stripper in cemetery
Columbia’s assistant city manager for public safety says the city will not formally investigate an incident Monday involving former state Assistant Attorney General Roland Corning.
Corning, who is a former state legislator, left his job with the attorney general’s office after he was pulled over Monday on suspicion of illegal activity. When he was pulled over, Corning identified himself as an employee with the attorney general’s office and was not charged with a crime.
The city’s Mike King said after reviewing the incident with Police Chief Tandy Carter, “there is no indication of any wrongdoing of the officer.”
Officer Mike Wines, whose wife works in the attorney general’s office, stopped Corning Monday after witnessing his car pull into a secluded spot in Elmwood Cemetery in downtown Columbia.
Corning was in the car with an 18-year-old employee of Platinum Plus Gentlemen’s Club, Wines reported. After receiving conflicting stories from Corning and the woman, Wines searched Corning’s car and found some *** toys and *** enhancement drug.
Wines said Corning told him he had a prescription for the drug. He and the woman were later released.
Read the complete story at thestate.com”
A tragic awful story.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091028/ap_on_re_ca/cn_canada_coyote_attack
“TORONTO – Two coyotes attacked a promising young musician as she was hiking alone in a national park in eastern Canada, and authorities said she died Wednesday of her injuries.
The victim was identified as Taylor Mitchell, 19, a singer-songwriter from Toronto who was touring her new album on the East Coast.
She was hiking solo on a trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia on Tuesday when the attack occurred. She was airlifted to a Halifax hospital in critical condition and died Wednesday morning, authorities said.”
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-10-28-census-worker-hanged_N.htm?csp=YahooModule_News
“Coroner: Hanged Census worker died at tree
Officials say a part-time census taker died at the tree in a Kentucky forest where his body was found with a rope around his neck and the word “fed” scrawled on his chest.
Clay County Coroner Jim Trosper and state medical examiner executive director Mike Wilder on Wednesday confirmed the location of 51-year-old Bill Sparkman’s death to The Associated Press.
Authorities have released little other information except that asphyxiation was the cause of death. Wilder says the investigation hasn’t determined whether the manner of death was homicide, suicide or an accident.”
Yglesias has some very interesting things to say about J-Street.
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009/10/pro-israel-pro-peace.php
Only on blogs is anyone excited about using the reconciliation process (which thanks to the Bird restriction is limited to fiscal matters) to legislate on health care. The WH and Reid have been pretty clear that it is a last last last option, not an “oh well, you made me use my secret weapon of obliteration”
I hate Mike Pence and all Republicans. Is that a hate crime? Seriously, Mike, why don’t you join your party at the nearest cemetary. You’re all already dead!
Mr. Sargent:
“Worth recalling that 68% of Lieberman’s constituents in Connecticut, including 73% of independents (Joe’s brand!), favor the public option. Which, of course, will cause Lieberman to immediately reconsider his opposition”
A poll about Joe Lieberman from the Daily Kos, huh?
Yeah…THAT’S believable.
Ever consider that maybe Lieberman is sticking that which was circumcised into your PO as a form of “payback” for the nutroot moonbats?
Daily Kos was chief among equals of the Dump Lieberman move in the Conn primary.
What Daily Kos thinks are Lieberman’s constituents and who Joe Lieberman thinks are his constituents are not necessarily the same thing.
Lieberman, and NOT Ned (”Oh…THAT Ned!”), Lamont is the current US Senator from Connecticut.
Elections have consequences, and Lieberman won THAT one.
When they say they want 60 votes for the strongest bill possible, what they really mean is the weakest bill possible.
Aaaaand:
” A good question from David Kurtz: What happened to Nancy Pelosi’s claim that she had the votes for the robust public option?”
Good moonbats are not supposed to have good memories, comrade.
What happened to the HCR Bill by….deadlines that the Nobel Prize-winning Alleged Hawaiian kept promising?
Or the millions of “jobs saved” by the Porkulus.
Best not to dwell too long….LOOK! Behind the curtain!
It’a DICK CHENEY!!!!
Which, of course, will cause Lieberman to immediately reconsider his opposition.
LOL! Yeah, right!
Mr. Sargent:
“Worth recalling that 68% of Lieberman’s constituents in Connecticut, including 73% of independents (Joe’s brand!), favor the public option. Which, of course, will cause Lieberman to immediately reconsider his opposition”
A poll about Joe Lieberman from the Daily Kos, huh?
Yeah…THAT’S believable.
Connecticut voters support 64 – 30 percent giving people the option to buy health insurance from a government plan.
All it takes is a search engine………….
LMAO…from the bilgeman..”Elections have consequences”
YES..Obama won the White House…the Dems took both the Senate and the House…get over it you LOSER!!!!
oddjob:
“All it takes is a search engine………….”
Yes…quite. But it also takes reading your own cite.
Scroll down to the last paragraph; it admits of a MOE of 3.2%.
So remove 3,2% from Obamacare supporters, and add 3.2% to the opposition…what do you get?
Pro Socialist Utopiacare at 43.8%
and
Against at 45.2%
IOW, it’s a statistical toss-up…in this sample.
And let’s talk about the sample a minute.
Again, down at the bottom,
The sample’s party affiliation has 94 more registered Democratic voters than Republicans.
Why do YOU think that is?
Do you think the approval/disapproval results might look better for Obama if the party affiliations were equally represented in the sample?
Hmmm?
“Voters support Obama’s health care plan 47 – 42 percent and split 47 – 45 percent in their approval of the way he is handling health care.
Connecticut voters support 64 – 30 percent giving people the option to buy health insurance from a government plan. But by a 68 – 26 percent margin they don’t believe Obama’s promise that the health care plan will not add to the deficit.
“Good news for Obama is that Connecticut voters trust him more than congressional Republicans 54 – 30 percent to handle health care,” Schwartz said. “And voters believe 57 – 33 percent that these Republicans want Obama to fail and are not playing a constructive role in health care reform.”
From September 10 – 14, Quinnipiac University surveyed 921 Connecticut registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percentage points. The survey includes 248 Republicans with a margin of error of +/- 6.2 percentage points and 342 Democrats with a margin of error of +/- 5.3 percentage points”
Thanks for the link, I found it very useful.
Umm, Greg? ”I will insist on a Medicare+5 amendment on the Floor so that the full Caucus can vote on it” is Congressspeak for “I’ve lost but I have to have my C-SPAN moment to recover some of the dignity Ill lose after all my strident ultimatums when I fall in line.”
I only like the polls that show how Republicans have fallen off the cliff in approval ratings. Or the ones that show how many people identify themselves as Republicans. Or the ones that show Bush’s approval ratings. I really like the ones that show Republicans in Congress approval ratings.
Are there any that show Dick’s approval ratings?
You wonks in the beltway are as Clueless as the movie. We people in flyover country have no idea what a co-op, public option, opt out, opt in, government option, reconciliation, cloture, cmte vote vs floor vote and all that jazz. This is why HCR is selling to normal Americans. You wonks who talk about this stuff idolize people who are good at talking and spending YOUR money. Get over yourselves.
I like this poll as well.
7 in 10 Say Palin Not Qualified to Be President.
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/10/28/seven-in-10-say-palin-not-qualified-to-be-president/
@lmsinca: “Are there any that show Dick’s approval ratings?”
You’ll like this one comparing Cheney to Pelosi:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/120761/Cheney-Pelosi-Poor-Ratings-Common.aspx
Biden 2012
GWB spent our money and then some. If you’re a Democrat I’ll eat my hat and yours.
@lmsinca
why do you all fear palin so much. If you think she is such an idiot, shouldn’t you encourage repugs to root her on? I don’t get it. Repubs think you don’t like her b/c you’re truly scared of her. Please explain.
Sorry sbj, that was from June. Find something more current after Cheney’s “dithering” comment, and CIA admitting to lying to Congress. Polls go up and down everyday and because I’m in a bad mood tonight I only like the ones that make me feel better.
Ahhh. How about this? Karl Rove thinks the Democrat will win NY23.
I’m a clinton democrat…”the era of big government is over”. I’m ok with HCR and all this expensive stuff, only as long as we can pay for it. GWB signed ever bill sent to him. So he’s to blame, but he didn’t write the bills, repubs tried to get Demo’s to like them and spent a bunch of money on medicare and terrorism. however, the dems have controlled the house/senate for 3 years…can’t we cut a little spending somewhere? somewhere? I work for a company where we look to cut spending every year by 4%, not grow it constantly. Clinton was behind this strategy for 7 1/2 years of his presidency. He tried this path and learned his lesson. People don’t like govt in their business.
Actually, we love her and the more front and center she is like in NY23 the better for us. I’d love to see her or Huckabee run in 2012 because that would be the kind of referendum on the conservatives we really need in order to keep the country center or left of center.
lmsinca
So why beat her up, shouldn’t you just let her run her mouth and not discourage her and call her idiot and other names?
Thanks sbj, maybe it will be a small victory.
Biden 2012
You have to look back and see what Obama inherited and who he put in place to help deal with some of the problems. Obama is just about as center as they get, Blue Dog King Rahm, Geitner and Summers and by all means keep Bernanke and Gates.
He doesn’t want to spend a bunch of money to get some of this stuff done but he’s stuck with the government as last resort to bring the economy around. We are in dire straits and he’s walking a very fine line, but the country is way past due for HCR and he’s trying like crazy to make it work without it being a total entitlement program.
I actually don’t agree with a lot of what he’s doing, but when I think of the alternative I totally freak out, so he’s got my support for now.
The simplest, crispest answer is to throw all of the Vampire Wealthcare Corporations into the volcano. It would a much much better planet without them.
As DC doesn’t have the nads, sadly, to do that, we might take a breath and consider the beloved community. There will be 7000 more casualties in the Insurance Industry’s odious War on the American People. 19,000 by Easter. 360,000 people have died unnecessarily — killed by the Masters of Greed — since 9-11. (http://tinyurl.com/l7cy8u)
Imagine writing those 7000 consolation notes to the ruined families before Christmas. 122 will die tomorrow. This is not partisan unless you’re a heart-empty sociopath. This is about a country which values each citizen exactly as much as the next. You breathe, you get health care. It’s about human, not politics. Unless your dog-breath cynicism has tipped you from the human race to a human disgrace.
Next time you look at your daughter or at your wife or at your pal, imagine if they were suddenly ghastly sick — what wouldn’t you do? What wouldn’t you wish? It’s about that.
Biden 2012
I actually never call anyone an idiot and she can run her mouth all she wants, that’s the best scenario for us. I happen to find her a bit of an embarrassment as a woman and a mother but that’s my own personal view. I’ve raised two daughters and my niece, all smart and accomplished, and the two that are left would be better candidates or role models than she is.
wfleet
Thanks, I couldn’t have said it better but here’s a post from earlier today.
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/robust-public-options-fate-hangs-in-balance-as-house-leadership-mulls-final-decision/#comment-101423
wfleet:
“You breathe, you get health care. It’s about human, not politics. Unless your dog-breath cynicism has tipped you from the human race to a human disgrace.”
Let’s talk about being human.
This is a hard fact to confront, and I understand perfectly that you might not want to, because a lot of people don’t either, but it IS a fact.
One day, we are all going to die, and we cannot buy it off.
Now one of the double-edged benefits of this being a free country is that you are perfectly within your rights to bankrupt yourself in trying to do so.
But this freedom also means that you have NO right to bankrupt me or anyone else in this ultimately futile effort.
At a certain point in my life, I plan not to carry health insurance on myself at all, but just to sit back on the porch with a bourbon and a good cigar and wait for Death to come calling for me.
Perhaps this acceptance is easier for me since I’m a Catholic,(although a very poor one), and therefore I believe that what lies beyond is better than what is here.
And I would much prefer a graceful and dignified exit than knowing that because I demanded pointless care, some child somewhere may have been denied it’s portion of what is after all is said and done, a finite resource.
To put it bluntly:
“You’re NOT going to get better, and they need the bed for someone who WILL”.
Now I realize that you may not necessarily believe as I do, and so you may plan on fighting past the point where it really makes any sense to.
Well, good luck in that, but that’s a battle that, like your eventual passing, will be one you face only with what personal resources you can bring to bear.
I’d much prefer leaving the money saved as a legacy to my descendants.
Which sentiment is more human?
sbj
You gotta love this as we’re both in CA and familiar with this guy especially since we were schmoozing on NY23. BTW the Red team is winning tonight in the playoffs 4-ZIP.
“Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman has already received the backing of Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and the anti-public-spending Club for Growth. On Monday he was endorsed by Dana Rohrabacher, the Orange County, California, Republican who began his career as a speechwriter for President Reagan. Said Rohrabacher “We don’t need Tweedle-Dum or Tweedle-Dee, we need Hoffman. He’s not afraid to stand up and speak the truth,”
“It’s a great endorsement — as far as Hoffman’s opponents are concerned. As special assistant to Ronald Reagan, Rohrabacher played a key role in the late 1980s getting money and arms to Muslim extremists in Afghanistan. Throughout the 90s, he lobbied shamelessly for the repressive Taliban. A November/December 1996 article in Washington Report on Middle East Affairs said, “The potential rise of power of the Taliban does not alarm Rohrabacher” because the congressman believes the “Taliban could provide stability in an area where chaos was creating a real threat to the U.S.” Nice. In April 2001, Rohrabacher met privately in Qatar with the Taliban’s foreign minister, then seeking increased aid for his country.”
http://lauraflanders.firedoglake.com/2009/10/28/the-f-word-palins-pet-hoffman-has-taliban-ties/
Greg, I never question you. Until now. How can ‘It’s always been an option” mean the same as “not seriously considering it”? If it’s an option, it will be considered when and if it needs to be, right?
Normally Bilgeman I stay clear of you, but you are way over the top tonight. Who wouldn’t agree with what you’re saying, if you’re in the 60-80 year range and dying imminently anyway? Gosh, are those the death panels everyone was talking about in August, or just a little I’m ready to go so leave me alone and let me die, I’m ready to meet my maker?
It falls a bit short when you’re a lot younger and have a chance to live but can’t get some corporate hack to give you that opportunity. Do you have kids? Would you go bankrupt to save them, I’m sure you would, and so would I.
The point is we should all have access to the decision making process. Insurance companies will deny access if they get the chance and no one’s looking. We don’t all have the ability to pay for whatever treatment might be needed and if we do, they might not give it to us anyway.
Why do YOU think that is?
You never fail to disappoint. Why don’t you check the voter registrations in CT and get back to us after you’ve found out there are more Democrats than Republicans in the Nutmeg State?
The stupid is really breathtaking, I must say, even for the village idiot.
Obama as center as they get and doesn’t want to spend money? Surely no one can actually believe this.
Palin an embarrassment to women, not smart or accomplished, but, say, Pelosi, Waters, McCaskill are intelligent, mainstream role models? If Palin was so routinely dishonest and wrong, Dems wouldn’t need to keep lying about her and what she has said.
Bilgeman, you are discussing health care with someone who thinks it is something called a “right” and doesn’t consist of services and goods, so you really can’t have a rational discussion about it. It’s somehow free of the laws of economics, because everyone “needs” it. Because everyone needs it, everyone can have it in unlimited amounts, because it is owed to them by . . . someone.
You can’t ever get anywhere in this discussion, because the other side starts from nonsensical premises.
So remove 3,2% from Obamacare supporters, and add 3.2% to the opposition…what do you get?
Pro Socialist Utopiacare at 43.8%
and
Against at 45.2%
IOW, it’s a statistical toss-up…in this sample
Except that wasn’t what you were challenging in Greg’s post. You were challenging the validity of the assertion that a whopping majority of Connecticut voters wanted a health care plan with a government sponsored public option.
Come back after you learn how to read.
“You can’t ever get anywhere in this discussion, because the other side starts from nonsensical premises.”
Gosh, philisopical differences, but you’re always right and the rest of us are always wrong. I find your premises as nonsensical as you find mine.