Seriously, why the hell would I care what Mark Foley thinks?

This will be one of them posts where I am going to make some on the far right angry… I think.

Nearly three years after then-Congressman Mark Foley, R-FLA, saw his political career crumble following the revelation of his sexually explicit emails with underage congressional pages, he’s garnering the spotlight once again: as a radio talk show host.
Foley, who resigned after ABC News’ The Blotter broke the story before going to rehab in Arizona, is set to debut his radio show entitled “Inside the Mind of Mark Foley” on Sept. 22 on West Palm Beach radio station WSVU 960am.
“You’re going to be amazed,” said WSVU spokesman Joseph Raineri of Foley. Raineri said that “with everything that’s going on with healthcare and everybody questioning what’s happening in Washington, DC, we thought who better to explain what’s going on than Mark Foley.”
via Mark Foley to Become Talk Radio Host After Email Scandal – ABC News.

I mean, I know this is going to make me sound like a crass asshole; which I will readily admit to being. But I really just do not give two flips what this morally depraved faggot thinks about anything at all. Because more than likely it involves little boys and naked gay men; and I am just not really into that sort of thing.

Needless to say, I doubt very many people will be listening to this man’s show. I think he seriously needs to just disappear. As he was an embarrassment for the Republican Party.

What some people will not do, to stay in the spotlight. Oy. 🙄

Liberals now accuse us of being terrorists

That is correct, we are now the terrorists; that is according to the far left African-American wing of the Democratic Party.

I am, of course, referring to this absolutely asinine rant here. I would quote that bunch of nonsensical prattle on this blog and respond to it directly; but I am afraid that my emotions would get the best of me and I would say something that I might regret later. Leave it to the idiotic Socialist Liberal Democrats, to turn a fact finding mission, about an admitted Communist, who said everything and I do mean everything; under the damn sun about white people into a “White vs Black” witch hunt; starring of course; Glenn Beck.

The truth is folks, this had nothing to do with “White vs Black” and everything to do with Right vs Wrong. In fact, here is Glenn Back’s Statement about Van Jones’s ouster:

The American people stood up and demanded answers. Instead of providing them, the Administration had Jones resign under cover of darkness. I continue to be amazed by the power of everyday Americans to initiate change in our government through honest questioning, and judging by the other radicals in the administration, I expect that questioning to continue for the foreseeable future.

That is the truth about what really happened people. The Socialist Liberals seem to forget something; and that is that not every person under the Sun voted for Barack Obama. Some that voted for radical extremists like Bob Barr, some that wrote in the name of the crazy extremist Texas Representative Ron Paul, some that actually held their noses and voted for Moderate Republican John McCain and his V.P. Pick Caribou Barbie; er, um, I mean, Sarah Palin.

That my friends is 42% of this Country of ours. Yes, President Obama won fair and square; there is no disputing that. But he won the election for President of the United States of America and NOT President of the Democratic Party; NOT President of extreme socialist wing of the Democratic Party, not President of the Socialist States of America, not the President of the African-American wing of the Democratic Party —- But the United States of America. President Barack Obama is the American people’s President and we, as Americans, have a obligation as United States citizens to hold this President accountable for every last damn decision that he and congress make. The same was true with George W. Bush and the Republican Congress and the same is and will be true with THIS President and this Congress.

We just cannot allow, nor can we afford, to become complacent in our attitude towards politics and Washington D.C. and most importantly about the Obama Administration. That is what the Obama Administration wants; everyone just to tune out and let them handle everything. Let me be the first to say this; as a Independent Conservative writer, and not as a Republican —– that complacency is what got this Country in this mess in the first place. What am I talking about? I am referring to the last nine years in the Country. Back in 2000. There was an election, we elected George W. Bush, then the day after the election, the America said, “Okay, that is over with!” and they proceeded to tune out politics and went back to their normal lives. Then 9/11 happened and everybody paid attention again, and that lasted about a month or so, maybe two or three; but by the time December of 2001 had rolled around the majority of America had moved on or lost interest. Then 2003 rolled around, George W. Bush sort of declared war against a Country that had zero to do with the 9/11 attacks. All because upon intelligence that we now know was horribly bad. Again, everyone paid attention, for a while, maybe for about a month or so. But then, the story got to be old hat and the majority of Americans lost interest. Then came 2006, the Iraq War turned ugly — troops started dying in mass; and the American people got angry and started demanding answers. Changes were made, idiots were fired, and a magical surge happened and everything was fine again, and again the people tuned Washington D.C. and the President out, again.

Then came the 2008 elections, which really started way back in 2007. I know, I blogged about them; daily. The American people started, ever so slowly to pay attention again, weary from the Bush Years, people wanted change. Then in the middle of the horse race in 2008, the economic bubble burst and burst bad it did. This is when everyone and I do mean everyone began to pay attention. What would President Bush do? What would become of our Nation? The American people actually said, “What will become…of me?” Bush did what any beltway Conservative does in time of crisis; he became a Democrat and started trying to prime the pump. He threw money at the Bankers and very quickly left the scene. By this time, the damned world was watching and some, were scratching their heads and wondering; “What on earth are these people doing to our Nation?”

Then the day of reckoning arrived; November 4, 2008. The Nation was in dire need of change and a new President; and the American people did what our Constitution guarantees us —- A right to vote. During the election, Conservatives like myself, raised our objections to the Democratic forerunner and his policies. But, the majority of the American people either were not listening or just simply did not care. They wanted a change in direction and boy did they ever get one!

Six months have passed now and Obama’s mantra of Hope and Change is now soured and the very people that voted for him are not shaking their fists in disgust at this President. His policies are failing, tax cheats have bailed, a Communist has resigned over furor of statements made by him. His own very base is now turning on him.

Where am I going with this? What is my point?

My point is this. The American people are actually paying attention to what you do, Mr. President. Do not deceive yourself into believing that you can just do what you damned well please. Your backroom deals with big pharma will come back to haunt you in 2012. Your feeble attempt to fix this economy has essentially failed. You hired a racist-baiting, bigoted, Communist for a “Green Jobs Czar.” The American people, with the assistance of the Conservative Blogosphere; you know those 42% of Americans that did not vote for you. —- have become well informed of you actions sir. We will continue to fight for what we believe in, Mr President.

We are the loyal opposition. We have nothing to apologize for….. and we’re not going any damned where. Mr. President we elected you and we will make sure, that you are doing your job. We cannot ever afford to tune out, nor will we ever do so again.

Others: American Power, Pajamas Media, Hot Air, Riehl World View, AmSpecBlog, Power Line

YES! Political experts see double digit losses for Democrats in 2010 elections!

This is such a good thing to hear…:

After an August recess marked by raucous town halls, troubling polling data and widespread anecdotal evidence of a volatile electorate, the small universe of political analysts who closely follow House races is predicting moderate to heavy Democratic losses in 2010.
Some of the most prominent and respected handicappers can now envision an election in which Democrats suffer double-digit losses in the House — not enough to provide the 40 seats necessary to return the GOP to power but enough to put them within striking distance.
Top political analyst Charlie Cook, in a special August 20 update to subscribers, wrote that “the situation this summer has slipped completely out of control for President Obama and congressional Democrats.”
“Many veteran congressional election watchers, including Democratic ones, report an eerie sense of déjà vu, with a consensus forming that the chances of Democratic losses going higher than 20 seats is just as good as the chances of Democratic losses going lower than 20 seats,” he wrote.
At the mid-August Netroots Nation convention, Nate Silver, a Democratic analyst whose uncannily accurate, stat-driven predictions have made his website FiveThirtyEight.com a must read among political junkies, predicted that Republicans will win between 20 and 50 seats next year. He further alarmed an audience of progressive activists by arguing that the GOP has between a 25 and 33 percent chance of winning back control of the House.
via Experts see double-digit Dem losses – Josh Kraushaar – POLITICO.com.

This reason why this is such a good thing is this; because of this, I believe that the Democrats will abandon the idea of Nationalized Healthcare. The reason why these numbers are so high is this; The Democrats, as I have written many times before, have overreached horribly after the 2008 election. They saw this economic crisis and the abject failure of the Bush Administration, as a chance to push through their progressive agenda. There was one thing, however, that the Democrats did not plan on; resistance. That would be the resistance from the 42% of Americans that voted for John McCain.

These number simply prove what I have believed all along. That not everyone in America is lockstep with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party; and their Identity Politics, Post Racial-Racialism, and the general Chicago style of politics that this Presidential Administration’s modus operandi.

For Republicans, this is their chance, put seeing their spokespersons are Joe the Plumber and Sarah Palin. I do not expect much out of them; at least not in 2010.

Others: Right Wing Nut House, Don Surber, Wake up America, Sister Toldjah, Another Black Conservative, Flopping Aces, American Power, And So it Goes in Shreveport, The Corner on National …,

Democrats Prepared to go it alone.

Call me skeptic, but this just does not pass the smell test….

Via The NYT:

WASHINGTON — Given hardening Republican opposition to Congressional health care proposals, Democrats now say they see little chance of the minority’s cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan from within their own ranks.
Top Democrats said Tuesday that their go-it-alone view was being shaped by what they saw as Republicans’ purposely strident tone against health care legislation during this month’s Congressional recess, as well as remarks by leading Republicans that current proposals were flawed beyond repair.
Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, said the heated opposition was evidence that Republicans had made a political calculation to draw a line against any health care changes, the latest in a string of major administration proposals that Republicans have opposed.
“The Republican leadership,” Mr. Emanuel said, “has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama’s health care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems that Americans face every day.”
The Democratic shift may not make producing a final bill much easier. The party must still reconcile the views of moderate and conservative Democrats worried about the cost and scope of the legislation with those of more liberal lawmakers determined to win a government-run insurance option to compete with private insurers.
On the other hand, such a change could alter the dynamic of talks surrounding health care legislation, and even change the substance of a final bill. With no need to negotiate with Republicans, Democrats might be better able to move more quickly, relying on their large majorities in both houses.

Okay here is why I do not believe that the Democrats will try and ram this legislation through. Right now, Congress in recess and they are out meeting with the people; the Congress critters are not stupid, they know that the people that are protesting at these meetings also vote, and whether the liberal media wants to admit it or not; these people are voting for the one’s who are trying to ram this through Congress. I believe before recess is over and the Congress convenes in August, there will be a major “Backsliding” in the Congress’s confidence in getting this passed. I believe at the last minute; many of these Congressmen will decide against this bill and It will die in the either the House or the Senate.

The reason I say this is because there are just too many “Blue Dogs” to prevent this bill from going anywhere. While there might be a 60 seat majority. Not all of these Congress people are far lefty Liberals. Some of them are Moderate and some some from very Conservative districts. The Democrats made a very fatal error in their judgment; they assumed that the entire Democratic Party had leaned to the far left. I am sorry to say, but that just is not true at all. There are some Democrats; God Love them, who still believe in the idea of Free Market Principles. They are also knowledgeable of the fact that the Healthcare industry accounts for 12-15% of the Nation’s Economy and if this plan goes through, that it would destroy or at the very least impair our nation’s economy.

So, while some of my fellow Conservative Bloggers are throwing up their hands and are saying “Get ready for Obamacare!” I am not so ready to raise the flag of surrender yet. Because I just have this itching feeling that the “Blog Dogs” and some of the not-so-Blue Dogs are going to have a “Come to Jesus” moment on this and are going to hastily retreat on this bill and vote against it. So, while I do not underestimate the majority of the Democrats, I also know that some of those Democrats are looking at 2010 and are wanting to keep their jobs. We must keep this in mind.

Others Covering the Subject: , Hot Air, RedState, YID With LID, Sweetness & Light, Commentary, The Sundries Shack, The Strata-Sphere, Wake up America, Right Wing Nut House, QandO, , Scared Monkeys, Don Surber and Atlas Shrugs

Healthcare redux times twelve sans five

or something like that….

First up; you can head on over and read “The One’s” desperate attempt to keep the debate afloat. I would sit here, and play the quote and challenge game; but it’s Sunday and I have a knee-ache, that is about to kill me. So, I will refrain. I think most of you all know how I feel about the damn thing. So, I will just let you go read for yourself.

Second up is the revelation that the public option might just be dead….CNN Reports:

A key Senate negotiator said Sunday that President Barack Obama should drop his push for a government-funded public health insurance option because the Senate will never pass it.
Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota said it was futile to continue to “chase that rabbit” due to the lack of 60 Senate votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
“The fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the United States Senate for a public option. There never have been,” Conrad said on “FOX News Sunday.”
Conrad is one of six Senate Finance Committee members — three Democrats and three Republicans — who are negotiating a compromise health-care bill that would be the only bipartisan proposal so far.
Three House bills and another Senate version have all been proposed by Democrats, and all contain provisions for a public health insurance option intended to compete against private insurers.
Republican opponents argue the public option is a step toward the government taking over the health care industry. Many Democrats argue that it would not have that effect.
Conrad has proposed creating non-profit health insurance cooperatives that could negotiate coverage as a collective for their members.
He said Sunday that such cooperatives would provide the competition sought by Obama and Democratic leaders to force private insurers to hold down costs and improve practices.

Of course, Liberals are NOT happy about this, as you can see here and here for yourself. Now, at this point you are most likely expecting me to say something snarky or nasty about this. Well, surprise. Believe it or not (Ripley?) I can certainly understand why those on the left would be upset at this. This is because I understand what is happening here. The President and the Congress are capitulating to the backlash from those of us, who do not want to see the Government involved in the process of health-care. The reason why this is so upsetting to the liberal crowd is this. The people who voted for Obama; voted for change, they trusted that Obama would be to shatter the “Business As usual” Government of Washington D.C.; Instead what he did was, is bring his own brand of “Business as usual” to Washington D.C. This has not flown well with those who actually voted for change in Washington D.C. As matter of fact, one of Obama’s own cabinet members was boo’ed and heckled at the Netroots conference that took places yesterday.

I have been pretty good at making predictions on this blog, so far. So, I am going to make a another public prediction. I predict that if come September, the Congress and Senate comes back, and this Health-care dies or gets shelved. That there will be blood. No, not literal blood. But, political blood. The sharks will be circling and quite frankly, it will get horribly ugly. You think the vitriol towards Bush was bad? You wait till this Health-Care Bill dies. You think Obama’s poll numbers are bad now? Wait till this all goes down. It is going to get really bad. Let’s just say that there are going to be a whole bunch of Liberal news organizations that are going to suddenly discover their objectivity again. Because for the last six months, The President has been getting a free pass, but now, the honeymoon is over, and the folks, as Bill O’Reilly calls them; are wanting to see what this guy is really going to do. The Liberal Establishment, and yes that includes the press, wants to know, is this guy going to deliver or not? If the President shows any sort of weakness at all, I predict that the media will go after him and the darling new President will become the next feeding frenzy.

Which brings me to my last point. What exactly is the point of having a health-care bill without a public option? I thought that is what the purpose of getting this bill passed in the first place! To me, stripping that option out, would spell disaster for all involved. Personally, if I were the Democrats, I would simply scrap the bill and start over, or put it off till after the elections. Because taking that out, would defeat the very purpose for having a health-care reform. Let me be clear, I do not support the idea of any kind of Government health-care at all. But it would seem that the Democrats would want to avoid shooting themselves in the foot like this. But then again, I have seen dumber things done by liberals in the past.

Democrats retreat on Climate Change AKA Cap and Tax

Big Surprise There!

Via BloomBerg:

Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Senate should abandon efforts to pass legislation curbing greenhouse-gas emissions this year and concentrate on a narrower bill to require use of renewable energy, four Democratic lawmakers say.
“The problem of doing both of them together is that it becomes too big of a lift,” Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas said in an interview last week. “I see the cap-and-trade being a real problem.”
The resistance by Lincoln and her Senate colleagues undercuts President Barack Obama’s effort to win passage of legislation that would cap carbon dioxide emissions and establish a market for trading pollution allowances, said Peter Molinaro, the head of government affairs for Midland, Michigan- based Dow Chemical Co., which supports the measure.
“Doing these energy provisions by themselves might make it more difficult to move the cap-and-trade legislation,” said Molinaro, who is based in Washington. “In this town if you split two measures, usually the second thing never gets done.”
The House passed cap-and-trade legislation in June.
Leaders of the Democratic-controlled Senate say they are sticking with their plan to combine a version of that bill with a separate measure mandating energy efficiency and the use of renewable sources such as solar and wind power. The legislation also provides for an extension of offshore oil and gas drilling in certain areas, broadening its support.
Reid’s Comment
“I don’t think we are going to take to the Senate floor a bill stripped of climate provisions,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, told reporters in Las Vegas on Aug. 11.

The reason this is happening is because the Democrats know that they are losing their support; because of the health-care issue. The poll numbers for the President and Congress are nosediving; so, the Democrats are scaling back. Smart move, if you ask me. They could totally lose their standings, which I predict will happen. 2010 will tell the story. You watch and see.

Others: The Atlantic Politics Channel, American Spectator, Senate Guru, Say Anything, Hot Air, Grist, The Minority Report, YID With LID, JustOneMinute, The Corner on National …, OpenMarket.org, The Foundry, Erick’s blog, RedState, Americans for Prosperity, AmSpecBlog and Don Surber

Yes, it is wrong when someone rips up a poster of Rosa Parks

This is one of those postings that is going to most likely anger some on the far right that might read this blog.

I have two words for ’em.

Fuck ‘Em. 😡

Pam Spaulding of whom I have zero in common with, when it comes to politics; but this right here goes way beyond that and yes, it is highly racist and yes, it pisses me the hell off — reports about some ass-clown who took it upon himself to rip up some woman’s poster of Rosa Parks.

Here’s the video:

In case, you cannot see what they guy does; here is a picture of a close up:

parkstear

A blog called Hating, Not Debating has the details:

This is the only video of what actually happened at the event this afternoon. The news only showed the woman being escorted away by the police. What happened was the women walked in with signs, the crowd booed and yelled at the women. The women rolled up their posters and put them down. A photographer/reporter approached the woman on the end and wanted to see what the poster was. As the woman went to show the photographer/reporter what the poster was, a man from the bleachers stood up and snatched the poster from the woman and photographer/reporter. As the woman went to retrieve her poster the police stepped in and escorted the woman and the man from the building.
The poster was not of Obama, it was not pro health care, the poster that was taken from the woman and wrinkled up into a ball was of Rosa Parks.
National news coverage only showed the woman being escorted from the forum and left out the fact that it was the man who started the incident. Not to mention it was a poster of Rosa Parks.

Okay, here is the deal; I understand that many people are not too thrilled about Obama’s attempt to Nationalize the healthcare system in this Country. Count me among those who are not too trilled about it either. But this sort of nonsense right here is just fucking wrong. First off all, just who the fuck appointed this asshole to be the offical “Snatch the poster guy?” Second of all; how much more of a racist message could you send to the African-American community, than by ripping up a poster of an icon of the civil rights movement in this Country?

As a Conservative who is well versed in the Republican Party’s historic fight against segregation in the south; this steams me to my damn core. Anyone who has ever read my about me page, knows that I have a thing for history; and this idiot just took a fucking page from the pre-1964 civil rights right act playbook of the Democratic Party.

I may take heat for writing this, but I just do not give a damn! This asshole does not represent me, nor anyone ELSE, that I know in Conservatism! 😡

Let me be absolutely clear, I have and will continue to use this blog to speak out against identity politics and stupidity that is associated with it on the left. But this is a clear cut case of racism and it is wrong. I will speak about against that, no matter what the cost.

Update: WizBang reports that it was a volunteer who was working the event. But that does not excuse this, as it was still wrong. Hope the damn bastard does some serious time for it.

More Pics via Mr. WizBang:

McCaskill_town_hall_poster_grab

McCaskill_town_hall_poster_grab2

Thats it, walk that Mother Fucker outta there... asshole racist! — That's it, walk that Mother Fucker outta there... asshole racist!

Once again Andrew Sullivan shows that he is not a Conservative

Andrew Sullivan is Astroturfing (or is it asshole-turfing? Most likely BOTH in Sullivan’s case! Doh Hypnotized ) for his fellow Liberals.

Andrew Sullivan says:

Here’s another example. There’s a groundswell of grousing on the right about the cash-for-clunkers program, because the feds were caught off-guard by its popularity. The argument is that if the government can’t run cash-for-clunkers, how can it run healthcare?
To which one might respond: but cash-for-clunkers is one example of the government actually doing something right, helpful and popular. It’s the kind of pragmatic experimentation that FDR tried repeatedly. So you have a practical, targeted measure that seems to have helped abate a deeper recession in the auto industry, and the right is obsessed with the ideological abstraction of “government.”
What conservatives have to do, in my view, is not demonize government, but to champion limited government. If government can do tangible practical things that help everyone, while balancing its budget, it’s doing what conservatives think it should. Smart, practical initiatives that address problems that the private sector has failed at: what else is government for? The rest is ideology – and it seems to be all the Republicans have left.

Can someone tell how the Government affecting the Markets is doing something right? I mean, Ron Paul knocked out of the ballpark, when he said in his video that, while the “Cash for Clunkers” program might help those who are able to buy cars; but that it would damage the market for the poor people who buy those older so-called “Clunker” cars.

Reason Magazine’s Matt Welch weighs in:

I’m nobody’s conservative, but I’m pretty sure if I was telling conservatives how to think I wouldn’t admonish them for failing to champion limited government within two sentences of praising FDR’s pragmatism. It’s like, I dunno, lecturing the Labour Party about demonstrating their pro-union bonafides while praising Margaret Thatcher’s centrism. Sounds a bit off.
[….]
Sullivan is dead right about one thing: Cash-for-clunkers is indeed very “popular.” So is the home mortgage interest deduction, the prescription drug benefit, and any number of federal programs that siphon from the diffuse pool of tax revenue+debt and blast out concentrated benefits to the broad middle class. The standard for judging these things shouldn’t be popularity–Richard Nixon’s wage-and-price control spasm of 1971, to name one of many historical measures now widely and rightly considered asinine, was hugely popular at the time–but whether they make sense in both the short and long term.
Cash-for-clunkers amounts to a rounding error in Tim Geithner’s nose-hair at this point, which is probably why at least some liberals seem so genuinely baffled by the disproportionate criticism it has drawn. But for some of us it’s also a nearly perfect symbol of economic statism run amok. The federal government is taking from the many, giving it to the less-than-many, destroying functional cars, funneling money to an auto industry that it already largely owns (at a hefty taxpayer price tag), then taking multiple (and multiply premature) bows for rescuing the economy and the auto industry in the process.
I understand, and even appreciate, that not everyone interprets things this way. But what I don’t understand, and ultimately don’t respect, is the weird urge to react to yet another Obama administration brainfart by rounding up its opponents and putting them in a metaphorical holding pen marked “ideologically obsessed.” Particularly after eight years in which the only detectable ideology was taxcut-and-spend, and otherwise do what parties in power always do: look for creative new ways to bribe the middle class.

I happen to like that last part about bribing the middle class. Is not that the honest truth? I mean, the Republican Party does it, and so do the Democrats. Bribe the middle class for their vote. I tend to believe it happens on the left more; but honestly, both sides do it. This program is an example of that.

James Joyner weighs in as well:

Piggybacking on WSJ’s point, it strikes me that the “clunkers” aspect of this arrangement is morally dubious. Glenn Reynolds‘ 2004 Mazda RX-8 is a clunker that, were he so inclined, he would be eligible to trade to the government (indirectly) for $4500. It would then be scrapped. Doesn’t this remove a perfectly good used car from the market that some person of modest means could otherwise have purchased, either upgrading from an older, less reliable vehicle or none at all? And doesn’t doing that mean the price of other used cars will increase accordingly?

Which is exactly what Ron Paul said in his video. Here is another area that this program will hurt. Auto Mechanics; these guys are the ones who keep those older cars going, thus creating a living for themselves. Which, in case the liberal socialist left have forgotten; does contribute to the economy. Which proves to the this writer, that the socialist far liberal left, in their quest to further their so-called Green agenda, which is basically a big scam, that is only going to benefit big business; they have left the most important people behind —- their constituents, that are the poor and lower middle class in this Country.

Graphic Credit: McGurk @ Ace of Spades

Blue Dogs cut a deal and run like hell

Well, I thought it was funny! 😉 😛

The Hill reports:

The Energy and Commerce Committee will resume its markup of healthcare legislation Wednesday afternoon under a deal between Blue Dogs and House leaders, but there will be no floor vote on the legislation before August.
Delaying a vote until after August was a key demand of the Blue Dogs, along with reducing the cost of the bill by $100 billion and allowing states to create health “co-ops” that would compete with the government-run “public option” and private insurers.
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was in the negotiations speaking for President Obama.
“We cut the cost of the bill, delayed a floor vote and ensured that the public option will not be forced on anyone,” said Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) who has led the negotiations for the Blue Dogs. “Members will have time to go home to talk to their constituents and actually read the bill.”
Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said he plans to finish the markup by Friday, the day Congress is scheduled to adjourn.“We cut the cost of the bill, delayed a floor vote and ensured that the public option will not be forced on anyone,” said Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) who has led the negotiations for the Blue Dogs. “Members will have time to go home to talk to their constituents and actually read the bill.”
Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said he plans to finish the markup by Friday, the day Congress is scheduled to adjourn.
“That is my expectation and hope,” Waxman said.

A couple things come to mind. I am glad that the Blue Dogs talked the rest of those pinheads out of forcing people to take the public option; that bothered me greatly. I figured that the “forcing someone” bit would never make it to the final bill. Because the Democrats know that killing off Private industry, whatever it might be would not be in their best interests. (Despite what Sean Hannity might say about that…. 😉 😛 ) Those people up on Capitol Hill might act dumb; at times, but in reality they know fully that private industry is the backbone of America.

This is not to say that there are not some far lefty socialists in the Democratic Party; there are plenty of them. Only difference between those idiots and the Communists in Russia are the party name and the language accents. However, I am happy to know that there are some moderates still in that party. Now, do I think this bill will pass? That is a good question. I believe that there is going to be some push back, among the far left in the Democratic Party, especially from the netroots people who want a single payer health-care system. Which I feel personally is an unreasonable goal, as I feel it would bankrupt the Nation.

I also know very well, that there is going to be a massive push by the far right types to kill this bill off entirely. Whether they succeed or not, is another story. It is important to note that the forcing language was stripped out and some state ran alternatives are being introduced. Some still may not like this, but I tend to believe the wind will go out of sails of those who were fiercely opposed to the plan.

I am just happy that they put the thing off till August and are actually are going to read the bill. That my friends is PROGRESS! 😀 😛 😉

Senate Panel Approves Sotomayor in 13-6 Vote

This was not a big surprise at all. But it is content and that’s what this game is all about. 😀

Via NYT:

WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee voted, 13 to 6, on Tuesday to endorse the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, easing her path to likely confirmation as the first Hispanic member of the tribunal.
As expected, all 12 Democrats on the judiciary panel voted for Judge Sotomayor. But among the seven Republicans on the committee, only Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina voted in favor.
“She is a restrained, fair and impartial judge,” said Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who heads the committee.
The action sends the nomination to the full Senate, where her confirmation by a comfortable margin seems to be assured.
Republican critics of the judge expressed displeasure with her rulings as a member of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, as well as with some of her public comments. The rulings and comments show that she is a judge is too “activist” and liberal and has too little commitment to the rights of gun owners, the critics complained.
Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the committee’s leading Republican, said just before the vote that he was compelled to oppose the nomination because of the judge’s “liberal, pro-government ideology.”
In an Op-Ed article in USA Today on Monday, Mr. Sessions wrote: “I don’t believe that Judge Sotomayor has the deep-rooted convictions necessary to resist the siren call of judicial activism. She has evoked its mantra too often. As someone who cares deeply about our great heritage of law, I must withhold my consent.”
Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said Mr. Sessions’ questioning of the nominee had been “sharp but fair.” Still, Mr. Schumer said, he was perplexed that anyone could accuse the nominee of being a liberal activist, since an examination of her record shows her to be a moderate.
Barring some totally unforeseen event or shocking disclosure, confirmation is inevitable, since the Democrats have a 60-to-40 advantage in the Senate, counting two independents who vote with them. Moreover, several Republicans in addition to Mr. Graham have announced that they will vote for her.
Mr. Graham said he supported the nomination, despite early reservations. “I feel good about Judge Sotomayor,” he said, adding he was sure that she would decide cases “based on what she thinks is right” and be an inspiration for young women. The Senate is expected to debate the nomination next week, so Judge Sotomayor is likely to be sworn in as the Supreme Court’s first Hispanic justice (and only its third woman) in time for the start of the high court’s next term, which begins in October.

I am heartened to see Republicans standing on their principles; for a change. I believe if there had been more Republicans in the Senate, that the “Wise Latino” would be been rejected. However, I am well aware that elections have consequences. If any conservatives want to be angry, be angry at Bush for royally screwing up the Republican Party’s holding in both houses of Congress. Before anyone accuses me of having the poorly-named “BDS”, it is a fact, that the Bush Administration made some serious blunders during is tenure and as a result of that the election went the way that it did. This nomination is one of the unfortunate bi-products of that process. The Republican Party should be mindful of this during the next election cycle in 2012, in their choosing of the next Presidential candidate.