Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : President Barack Obama -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ChinuSFO who wrote (59607)	7/28/2009 12:24:41 PM
From: Mac Con Ulaidh	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 149317

I was thinking this morning on the size of the states from which hail a handful of senators putting a crimp in things, and not to the purpose that some congresspeople are - to genuinely work on costs and structure a workable plan for all - but I'd been dinking about and hadn't looked into it... thanks to tpm for getting at it... The Tyranny of the Tiny White States By Nathan Newman - July 28, 2009, 9:34AM So here's what Senate structures and the filibuster has reduced us too-- a bipartisan group of Senators from six of the smallest and whitest states in the country are holding health care hostage on the Senate finance committee. As the New York Times reports today, three Dems and three GOPers are negotiating to gut Obama and the House's health care bills. And who are the six? * Max Baucus of Montana (pop 935,670- 89.2% white) * Kent Conrad of North Dakota (pop 636,677- 90.1% white) * Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico (pop 1,928,384- 42.8% white) * Michael B. Enzi of Wyoming (pop 509,294- 88.8% white) * Charles E. Grassley of Iowa (pop 2,966,334- 91.5% white) * Olympia Snowe of Maine (pop 1,321,505 - 96% white). Altogether, this rump group of negotiators represent just 8.3 million Americans or less than 3% of the population and only 1.6 million non-whites. Subtract Bingaman and that last number drops to just 521,000 non-whites represented by this group of Senate negotiators deciding the fate of health care for a diverse population of almost 300 million Americans. Structurally, this is what bipartisanship means. The tyranny of tiny states and the exclusion of non-white concerns. This is the structural racism built into a Constitution two hundred years ago to exclude the voting power of slaves and to this day privileges the power of a handful of small, mostly white states to undermine the will of the majority in our nation. tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com