President Obama has offered to meet with the Republicans to discuss health care. It's what they wanted, right? It's what they asked for. W-e-l-l-l-l, it turns out that they're only willing to meet if Obama scraps everything that has been accomplished already.
These are the same people who voted against a bill regarding deficits that they put forth.
The same people who put holds on nominees they intend to vote for, and then do vote for.
So the question becomes, will Obama's insanelyridiculouspipe dream desire for bipartisanship trump getting health care reform (in its limited form) accomplished? The latest stats indicate that we now pay slightly over 17% of our GDP for health care. Compared, for example, to Great Britain, which spends 7% with better outcomes and longer lifespans. I have heard the rumour that Obama might scrap everything provided the GOP agrees to a straight up or down vote when the new legislation comes to the floor. Bad idea. Bad, BAD idea. There is nothing to prevent the IIE from reneging on that as they have on everything else.
At what point does the President realize that the GOP will say no, will obstruct and obfuscate no matter what?
If you were Obama, what would you do? And if I missed your answer, please feel free to use the comments.
John Murtha passed away this afternoon at 77. He had represented the 12th CD in Pennsylvania since 1974, and was the first Vietnam veteran elected to Congress. Today we remember the good about the Congressman: his objection to the Iraq war, the projects he brought to his district, the part of his voting record that excluded abortion and gun control. (We also ignore ABSCAM.)
You may read elsewhere that he was a "former" Marine. With great respect for all Marines, I remind you that there are no retired Marines, only Marines not currently on active duty.
The question is why did he die? He had laparoscopic gall bladder surgery a couple weeks ago, went home, and then re-entered the hospital last week due to unnamed complications and a massive infection. He was in ICU. The surgery itself is very common and has a low probability of complications. The likelihood is that the problems were related to his age, weight, and overall physical condition: all of these greatly increase the likelihood of complications from any medical procedure. This would have made it less possible for his body to fight off whatever infection felled him.
Tomorrow, we'll think about what happens to the seat, the special election, the effects on the ultimate redistricting of Pennsylvania: today, John "Jack" Murtha served his country and he will be missed.
Update: While DocJess will have more tomorrow, note that John Murtha's district was the only one in the country, yes, the only one, to vote for Kerry in'04 and McCain in '08.
Greetings from snow central. The DC portion of the Federal government is closed today.
Spunky was the keynote speaker at the Tea Bag Convention on Saturday night. She put crib notes on her palm. My question is who did the actual writing? And thinking. But I digress.
It appears that she wants to run as a Republican AND a Teabagger. I understand easily that running as a Republican gives her ballot access, while running on a non-party would be difficult in many states. But it begs the question if Teabaggers are anti-government, how will they feel about voting Republican? OR if Spunky is able to BE the voice, face, and soul of the Republican Party, where do the remaining 12 Republican moderates and 37 AA Republicans go?
And what about Todd? The new email release shows that he passed proprietary data from his employer to the Alaskan government, "helped" make and break nominations and other hiring and firing decisions, and truly was a "shadow governor". And that's just what we've seen so far, much has been redacted, and more is coming.
While married couples certainly share information, do the teabaggers want Todd to have the launch codes? Maybe they don't care.
But the thing I'm really thinking about relates to the teabag supporters. I understand that people don't like paying taxes. I'm not one of those people because I believe in paying taxes. I want to pay taxes, because I believe in government services. I like roads, schools, libraries, a court system, and all the rest. I want some of the money I earn to go to services for people who need them. While I have a strict no-kill policy and therefore detest that a single dime of my money has ever gone for war, I am glad that some of my hard earned dollars have fed the hungry and provided medical care for the poor and helped to keep seniors solvent. But still, I understand the teabag rage against taxes. I understand that there is waste in government: I think we all realize it's part of the system that could use some improvement.
But the teabaggers have no implementable ideas. They seem unable to say where they would cut if they did decrease income from taxes. Do they want to do away with compulsory education? Do they feel libraries are superfluous because if you have a bible you don't need any other books? How will they pay for the wars they love so much? What will they do when children start starving to death? Have they forgotten what the world was like in the age of Upton Sinclair?
I don't think that Sarah Palin is electable for national office. Certainly not president. If she were able to capture the Republican nomination, it would be lightening rod for all of the progressives, moderates, non-voters, and anyone else who can read to rally to re-elect President Obama in 2012. But the fact that she has so much pull is indicative that we really are becoming, as my brother calls it, the United States of Entertainment. That being cute and dumb as a board plays well with far too many people.
Scott Lee Cohen, the Democratic nominee for Illinois lieutenant governor, removed himself from the campaign Sunday, freeing Gov. Pat Quinn from the baggage Cohen brought to the ticket, but also leaving him without a running mate.
"I'm someone who made mistakes in my life. And look where I am. If I let you down I'm sorry," Cohen said Sunday evening in a tearful announcement at the Hop Haus Tavern.
For days, the pawn broker-turned Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor was dogged over allegations he abused anabolic steroids, went into fits of rage, sexually abused his then-wife, got behind in child support payments and held a knife to the throat of a former girlfriend who is a convicted prostitute.
And what happens next?
House Speaker Michael Madigan will work with members of the Democratic State Central Committee, Gov. Quinn and Senate President John Cullerton to find a replacement, Brown said.
The selection task falls to the DSCC, which is made of a male and female representative from each of the state's 19 congressional districts. The DSCC is not required to pick from Cohen's primary competitors.
Southeastern Pennsylvania was hit hard by a major snowstorm yesterday. It was the second highest snowfall total in history, at an official 28.5 inches. 10 hours before the snow ended, Olivia was outside considering her options, as you can see in the photo.
Meanwhile, some 50 miles west of Philadelphia, the State Democratic Committee met in Lancaster to make its endorsements. On the good news side, there was unanimous agreement on one issue. All 301 attending State Committee members voted to endorse a resolution calling for passage of single payer healthcare, Senate Bill 400 and House Bill 1660, also known as the "Family and Business Healthcare Security Act." If you haven't read the bill yet, a synopsis is here, including a link to the full legislation. Note that the legislation is only 27 pages: it doesn't take a lot of words to put forth a great idea.
And then, the votes went downhill. On the issue of governor, there was no endorsement.
Four people competed for the endorsement: state Auditor General Jack Wagner of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, former U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel and state Sen. Anthony Williams of Philadelphia, who said Friday he has filed papers that allow him to raise money for a prospective campaign. Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty has declared his candidacy, but did not compete for the endorsement Saturday.
Hoeffel was eliminated on the first ballot as the low vote-getter. On the second and final ballot, Wagner received the most votes — more than half of those cast, but far short of a two-thirds majority.
It's interesting that Wagner received the most votes as Onorato has the institutional support of the party, and Ed Rendell, behind him. If the party cannot pull together behind a candidate, it bodes poorly for November, which was all uphill in any event. Will Hoeffel's progressive support evaporate after he loses the primary? Voting for Onorato or Wagner is an incredibly tough thing for a progressive: there is very little daylight between their positions and those of Republican Tom Corbett. Plus, Corbett has more name recognition, is currently prosecuting corrupt state officials from both parties, and is squeaky clean.
On the Senate side, Arlen Specter won the endorsement of more than the required two-thirds, with 229 votes to Joe Sestak's 72. Sestak had this to say:
It showed "I was a little too independent" for the committee members, who hail from all corners of the state, the second-term congressman from the Philadelphia suburbs said as he vowed to stay in the race. "This is going to be a great fight."
The endorsement of Specter is a little surprising given that many of those who voted for the endorsement are the same people who worked very hard against him in all the previous elections. If Specter wins the primary, it's almost certain that Pat Toomey will win the seat. Specter hasn't had a polling lead since October. In the most recent poll, of likely voters, Toomey holds a 14% lead, plus an enthusiasm gap lead when the party registrations are considered.
Well, had the opportunity to drive across 3 Red States this past couple weeks (reason for no posts last weekend), so thought I would make a few comments about my travel and what I saw. I know each part of the Country is different, but saw a few things that were worth mentioning.
Infrastructure: Now, the conditions of the roads and bridges have always varied a lot from State to State, and even in any particular State there can be a vast difference between their regular Interstates and their Turnpikes. But in one particular State (Oklahoma) I saw some of President Obama’s Stimulus money at work. There were so many highway projects going on along much of I-35 in Oklahoma that it added over an hour to the trip. What additional impact did this have besides infrastructure jobs and improved roads? Well, it caused me to stop and get gas and something to eat instead of waiting until I got to Kansas. So, if even half of the travelers are in the same boat, Oklahoma could be getting not only their roads updated, but also a lot of increased tax revenue with slowing down travelers.
"We've had 1.3 million labor hours worked on stimulus projects since we let them this early spring. We track that on every job," Ridley said "The tale of truth," Rep. Oberstar chimed in, "is that, of the President's 1.4 million (stimulus) jobs announced just last week, half of the jobs are derived from this program." Oklahoma Congresswoman Mary Fallin, (R) 5th District, sits on Oberstar's committee and joined him on the highway stimulus tour. Rep. Fallin doesn't profess to know how many jobs Oklahoma's transportation projects have created but stands behind the use of stimulus money to fund transportation projects. "Even though I didn't support the stimulus package as a whole, I did think it was good to invest in infrastructure in our states and our cities." Fallin's comment underscores another point made by the Associated Press investigators who authored the report -- namely, that transportation spending is "politically popular...supported even by some in the GOP who have criticized other stimulus programs."
That's right, Republicans in Oklahoma speaking good about the Stimulus....
Lawyers for President Obama have been working behind the scenes to prepare for the possibility of one, and maybe two Supreme Court vacancies this spring.
Court watchers believe two of the more liberal members of the court, justices John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, could decide to step aside for reasons of age and health. That would give the president his second and third chance to shape his legacy on the Supreme Court.
Last week, when Obama took the nearly unprecedented step of criticizing the court's opinion in a major campaign finance case during his State of the Union speech, some believed he was showcasing for the American people that presidential elections, and Supreme Courtnominations count.
We wouldn't lose any of the justices that sided with Citizens United should Ginsburg and Stevens step down. We would, however, solidify these two seats for a long time to come.
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE MEETING
Capital Hilton Hotel, Washington, D.C.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, DNC. Everybody have a seat -- have a seat. Thank you. Oh, it is good to see you -- good to be among friends so committed to the future of this party and this country that they’re willing to brave a blizzard. (Laughter.) Snowmageddon here in D.C. (Laughter.) I noticed somebody had “Californians for Obama” and I was thinking -- (applause) -- you guys are not used to this. (Laughter.)
In this week’s address, President Barack Obama said that America’s small businesses are key to rebuilding the economy on a new, stronger foundation and creating jobs. He called on Republicans and Democrats in Congress to pass – without delay – a series of proposals that will help American small businesses thrive. These proposals include using $30 billion in TARP funds to create a new Small Business Lending Fund to provide capital to community banks to increase lending to small businesses, offering a new tax credit for over one million small businesses that hire new workers or raise wages, and providing targeted support for the most innovative small businesses with the potential to export new goods and products.
7. Mitt Romney has a whole lotta unpaid SLC parking tickets from 2002.
3. Since global warming doesn’t exist, the temperature in August will be a nippy 105 degrees.
1. Salt Lake County’s dead-hooker cleanup budget will likely be depleted by 2012.
Needless to say, the more traditional Salt Lake Tribune has a different take:
We can't think of a place more welcoming to Republicans than Utah. This state would be honored if the party chose Salt Lake City as the site of its National Convention in 2012.
We've got the facilities. The Salt Palace Convention Center was rebuilt for the 2002 Winter Olympics and has been expanded again since. The crown jewel of a redeveloping downtown, the new City Creek Center, will be finished and open for business. The GOP couldn't pick a better time to see our capital city at its best.
But beyond the buildings, the inspiring story of the Latter-day Saints and Temple Square, the magnificent Wasatch Range and five national parks, it's the political spirit of the place that Republicans would find most congenial.
(long, boring stuff about how red Utah is)
In short, Republicans should bring their convention here. They would feel right at home.
We've been asked before, why don't we post more on the increasingly improving jobs reports. (Note that DocJess DID QuickHit the jobs report this morning). But maybe we were just waiting for the right graphic:
This Fiorina ad will go down as one of the craziest ever. And the best part is it's a Republican attacking another Republican.
Carly Fiorina's U.S. Senate campaign has created the nation's newest online star - the "demon sheep" - in its new ad attacking the Republican primary's front-runner, former South Bay Rep. Tom Campbell.
The unanswered question for her campaign: Is that a good thing? Unfortunately for Fiorina, many viewers are laughing at ewe.
"This is Jon Stewart material," said Michael Cornfield, an adjunct professor of political management at George Washington University and a new media expert.
"At 3 1/2 minutes, it's like 'Avatar' (long for an online ad)," Cornfield said. "Except unlike 'Avatar,' the special effects were embarrassing. And by the time you got to the payoff - a 'wolf in sheep's clothing' - it had become a punch line." - SFGate
You can follow along with our DNC friends Dan Slater from Colorado on his site DemNotes
Thursday, the Chairs and Vice Chairs meet at the ASDC’s meeting, followed by some trainings on campaign finance and DNC committee meetings.
Friday, various caucuses meet, including the Western Caucus.
Finally, on Saturday, we hold the actual DNC meeting, where President Obama will be addressing us about the state of the Democratic Party. It should be an interesting presentation and I’m looking forward to hearing what the President has to say about where he thinks the Party should be heading. I’ll be sure to post updates throughout the week to DemNotes, as well as more frequent updates via my fan page on Facebook and @DemNotes on Twitter.
And our other DNC friend Frank Leone from Virginia on his site DemRulz
The DNC Winter meeting started off today with meeting of the Association of State Democratic Chairs, the Resolutions Committee, the Credentials Committee, and everyone worrying about the snow. Virginian Susan Swecker co-chaired an introductory Credentials meeting and Alfonso Lopez and I attended as members. The Committee generally meets only when there are challenges to DNC members, so we might not meet often. The day’s highlight was clearly the OFA rally this afternoon, featuring Chairman Kaine, and President Obama, who coolly laid out his plans for getting the truth to the American people, creating jobs, and finishing the task of health insurance reform.
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT DNC FUNDRAISING DINNER February 4, 2010 National Museum of Women in the Arts Washington, D.C.
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody! Thank you! Thank you! Please, everybody, have a seat. Especially Tom McMullen and Dikembe Mutombo. (Laughter.) Every time I stand next to them I look like a little kid. (Laughter.)
I want to thank three people who are just extraordinarily important to the project of rebuilding our country and have just been great friends of mine, great friends of the Democratic Party. You already heard from one -- please give it up for Governor Tim Kaine. (Applause.) Our DNC finance chair, Jane Stetson, who's racking up a lot of frequent flier miles. (Applause.) And Andy Tobias, our DNC treasurer -- hey, Andy. (Applause.)
It is great to see all of you here tonight, wonderful to see so many good friends, many of you who were there from the beginning of this campaign. And I want you to all know that I appreciate everything that you've done -- not just for the campaign, but also what you've done for the country and what you've done for the party.
Many of you were invested in this campaign at the very beginning when nobody could pronounce my name. (Laughter.) And you’d tell your friends, there's this young guy, I really think he's got something. "What's his name?" Barack Obama? (Laughter.) Yeah. So you had to confront a lot of skepticism, a lot of confusion. Some of you were involved in a campaign for the first time, and some of you got involved for the very first time in a very long time -– because you believed that we were in a defining moment in our history and that your voice could make a difference.
Not a single day goes by where I don’t think about all the time and the energy, the money, the commitment, the unyielding faith that you put into our campaign -- because it wasn’t just about winning an election; it was about changing a country.
President Obama has offered to meet with the Republicans to discuss health care. It's what they wanted, right? It's what they asked for. W-e-l-l-l-l, it turns out that they're only willing to meet if Obama scraps everything that has been accomplished already. 
Southeastern Pennsylvania was hit hard by a major snowstorm yesterday. It was the second highest snowfall total in history, at an official 28.5 inches. 10 hours before the snow ended, Olivia was outside considering her options, as you can see in the photo. 
