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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (76871)	1/20/2010 6:38:40 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 90947

Read between the lines here Betsy's Page Senator Webb was quick to put out this statement tonight. <<< In many ways the campaign in Massachusetts became a referendum not only on health care reform but also on the openness and integrity of our government process. It is vital that we restore the respect of the American people in our system of government and in our leaders. To that end, I believe it would only be fair and prudent that we suspend further votes on health care legislation until Senator-elect Brown is seated. >>> You think that Senator Webb is hoping not to have to cast another vote for the turd bill that Reid has put through? No matter how they try to spin this election, it is clear that health care was what was on people's minds. Rasmussen found that that was the number one issue on people's minds today. And the Brown voters can't stand Reid's plan. And they wish the Democrats would focus on the deficit rather than health care. How many other Democratic senators, especially those up for election this year, are wishing they'd known that this was going to happen so they wouldn't have had to cast that damning vote for Reid's bill. As that bill recedes into the past, it will probably become amplified in people's minds about how awful it is. That will become crystallized as the conventional wisdom just as it has become for Hillary's plan. And these Democrats will that vote hung around their necks. They won't be able to disavow it or explain it away. Do you think Ben Nelson is proud of that vote now? And those House Democrats are sending a loud and explicit message to Nancy Pelosi. <<< In fact, early signs of split emerged as the polls closed in Massachusetts – between leaders like House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer who said “the Senate bill is better than nothing,” and individual members who didn’t want to swallow the Senate’s version of health reform whole. And with the winning majority for a health reform bill in the House so thin, almost any defections at this point would be fatal to reform’s prospects. "I've maintained for months now that incremental reform in the health care package would make much more sense from my perspective," said California Rep. Jim Costa, one of the last Democrats to vote "yes" on the House bill. He said he'd like to see Obama tell voters that "we may have been overreaching" and then push for a scaled-back bill that focuses on things more people can agree on, like insurance reforms. He said it's not just a question of the House bill versus the Senate bill. "For me, it's broader than that," Costa said. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), one of the leading advocates for health reform in the House, said, "I don't think it would be the worst thing to take a step back and say we are going to pivot to do a jobs thing" and include elements of health care reform in it. "If there isn't any recognition that we got the message and we are trying to recalibrate and do things differently, we are not only going to risk looking ignorant but arrogant,” he said. >>> If she's lost Weiner, she's got a big problem and should head back to the drawing board. She might want to pretend that it's all "right on course" but that's just whistling past the graveyard - her caucus's graveyard if she doesn't adjust. And her members are telling her and, perhaps more significantly, the media that they ahve no interest in the Sudden Victory Plan B where they pass the Senate bill and then hope to fix the problems later. <<< Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) was skeptical of the two-step scenario. “I've heard that theory but I don't know if it works," he said. "The problem is this we are spending almost a trillion dollars and folks are telling me I should vote yes and we will fix it later. You wouldn't buy a car for a trillion dollars and say yeah, it doesn't run but we will fix it later." Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.) said, "We were fully expecting to go some kind of conference committee and work out those differences [with the Senate]. And there are still differences to work out. I cannot imagine, from one person, one member from Indiana, that this House would accept the Senate bill as is." >>> The mere fact that the Democrats have talked about this option shows how out of touch they are with the country and, apparently, their own caucus. There are probably a whole lot of Democrats members in both houses who are secretly hoping to have this all out of the way for a good long while and focus on jobs and the economy. Whether their leaders will listen to them is not clear. betsyspage.blogspot.com

To: Sully- who wrote (76871)	1/20/2010 6:44:46 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 90947

To: Sully- who wrote (76871)	1/20/2010 6:47:49 AM
From: Sully-	1 Recommendation Respond to of 90947

Check Out . . . By: Rich Lowry Thr Corner . . . Costa's interesting interview with Eric Fehrnstrom, a top Brown aide. Fehrnstrom says that terrorism has been an underappreciated issue in the race (Thiessen wrote about this today). Also, this on the politics of health-care is worth noting, too: Fehrnstrom say Brown supported Romneycare so he couldn't "be painted as a ‘just say no’ Republican, but could articulate a message as a ‘just start over’ Republican." corner.nationalreview.com

To: Sully- who wrote (76871)	1/20/2010 6:56:46 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 90947

'Phony Calls Tell Massachusetts Residents Pro-Life Group Opposes Scott Brown' By: Rich Lowry The Corner Here: <<< Boston, MA (LifeNews.com) -- Behind in the polls to Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown, supporters of pro-abortion candidate Martha Coakley have evidentially reached into their bag of dirty tricks. A Washington, D.C. based company is making calls to Massachusetts residents pretending to represent a prominent pro-life group. The calls, from 202-461-3441, a Washington number registered to a company called SOOH, claim to be from Massachusetts Citizens for Life. The caller claims the pro-life group is opposing Scott brown because of his stance against the health care bill, but as MCFL president Anne Fox told LifeNews.com late Monday, the opposite is true. "Pro-lifers are receiving phone calls from people claiming to be Massachusetts Citizens for Life. The callers say that MCFL is not supporting Scott Brown because of his position on health care," she said. "The truth is that Massachusetts Citizens for Life is supporting Brown because of his position on health care." The same number is also making calls to other state residents with various messages all attacking Brown. "Pro-lifers are not the only victims of this scam. Our MCFL sleuths have found that this same number is calling people across the state claiming to be different groups with different messages -- all anti-Brown," Fox added. >>> corner.nationalreview.com

To: Sully- who wrote (76871)	1/20/2010 7:15:41 AM
From: Sully-	1 Recommendation Respond to of 90947

The Education of the MSM By: Kathryn Jean Lopez The Corner A media-malpractice point: <<< Lost in the bickering and theorizing over political blame in the Massachusetts election is the rebuke voters are dishing out to the media. For the better part of a year, Tea Parties have sprung up around the nation. If they are not ignored by the press, they are largely dismissed or characterized as “loons,” “bigots,” or “extremists.” I have read countless articles and columns which criticize the “tea baggers,” claiming that the protestors don’t even know what they are protesting. All the while, people involved in the Tea Parties have claimed that they are not necessarily Republican, but include many Democrats and Independents as well. They claim that they attend rallies for various reasons (as opposed to not knowing their reasons). They often cite “out of control spending,” “runaway government,” or a “move toward socialism” as their top concerns. Their opposition to the monstrous health care reform bills has been consistent with this thinking. Despite rigged 10-year projections which claim the bill will be budget neutral, they rely on common sense which tells them that like Medicare, Social Security, the USPS, and Cash for Clunkers, government-controlled health care will end up being another entitlement albatross our country cannot afford in the long run. Because of this sound thinking, a national poll in December showed that the Tea Party movement enjoys more public support than either of the two major parties. In spite of this, the MSM continues to dismiss, downplay, or deride the sentiments of Tea Partiers. Massachusetts has now shown that the Tea Party mentality is not an extreme, angry, southern, bigoted bunch. They are in fact independent thinkers, who are deeply concerned about our direction and politicians drunk with government power. The MSM has lost their battle. And once again, there is a Tea Party in Massachusetts. >>> corner.nationalreview.com

To: Sully- who wrote (76871)	1/20/2010 7:28:28 AM
From: Sully-	1 Recommendation Respond to of 90947

Was It Worth It? By: Shannen Coffin The Corner Massachusetts Democrats changed the rules of the game after Ted Kennedy's death, granting to Democratic governor Deval Patrick the power to appoint an interim senator pending today's special election -- a power that it had expressly denied to Republican governor Mit Romney in the 2004 election cycle. The reason was to maintain the 60th vote on the president's health-care legislation and cement Ted Kennedy's "legacy." The plan didn't work on that front, since Democrats couldn't come to an agreement on the specifics of the bill in the time allotted. And the political maneuvering in the State legislature had enormous political ramifications, feeding a sense of foul play by the Democratic establishment. As much as anything, this unfair play helped propel Scott Brown to a competitive position -- and he and Martha Coakley have done the rest. We'll find out tonight whether Brown will succeed, but you have to wonder whether some state Democrats are second-guessing their decision to change the rules of the game after Kennedy's death. corner.nationalreview.com

To: Sully- who wrote (76871)	1/20/2010 7:58:51 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 90947

'Far Left Has Taken Over Democratic Party' By: Mark Steyn The Corner Now which hysterical right-wing racist fearmonger who wants you to die from lack of affordable health care would that be? This one: *<<< Far Left Has Taken Over Democratic Party, [Democrat]Sen. Bayh Says >>>* It would certainly be fun if Reid and Pelosi wound up making themselves the Sister Souljahs of the 2010 election season. corner.nationalreview.com

To: Sully- who wrote (76871)	1/20/2010 8:02:37 AM
From: Sully-	1 Recommendation Respond to of 90947

Um, Yeah By: Jonah Goldberg The Corner From a reader: <<< Gonna be a real awkward moment during the State of the Union when Obama gives the hosana to the late Sen. Kennedy and the camera pans in on Scott Brown. >>> corner.nationalreview.com

To: Sully- who wrote (76871)	1/20/2010 8:04:18 AM
From: Sully-	1 Recommendation Respond to of 90947

The Coming Obamacare Exodus? By: Daniel Foster The Corner NBC's Luke Russert Tweets: <<< Almost to a man, rank and file House Dems have said tonight they will NOT vote for the Senate bill. >>> corner.nationalreview.com

To: Sully- who wrote (76871)	1/20/2010 8:26:19 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 90947

Brown In By the Editors National Review Online Scott Brown didn’t just defeat Martha Coakley in the Massachusetts Senate race. He also defeated a hardy band of political clichés. That Republicans can’t win Senate races in deep-blue Massachusetts. That the state is devoted to “the Kennedy legacy.” That the Republican party has become hostage to extremists who would rather lose than support a pro-choice candidate. That the GOP has become a southern regional party. That what Democrats call “health care reform” is a fait accompli. That President Obama has magical powers of persuasion. Democrats are blaming Coakley for running a bad campaign. Actually, it was a terrible one. But she had won statewide before, and the local party establishment expressed no alarm when she won the nomination. Either they didn’t see her flaws or thought that in Massachusetts it wouldn’t matter. What made a weak candidate a losing candidate was the national environment. Liberals — some of the same people who chalked up Obama’s win to the public’s new zeal for progressivism — blame the economy for the public mood. But is it really high unemployment that has moved the public against the health-care legislation, abortion, and gun control? Remember that just a few months ago the conventional wisdom was that a weak economy would build public support for Obamacare. The Massachusetts race was as close to a referendum on that legislation as can reasonably be imagined, and it lost. So another Democratic excuse is making the rounds: Massachusetts is a special case, since it already has near-universal coverage and thus has more to lose than gain from the legislation. But a lot of states, and indeed the whole country, will lose more than gain, and know it. Some Democrats have talked about putting Obamacare into law by having Democratic appointee Paul Kirk vote for it before Brown can be seated. We suspect that move would be too disgraceful to work. But to push the Senate bill through the House and make it law that way would also be to ignore the clear will of even blue-state voters. Democrats will deserve the thrashing they will get if they follow this course. We have no doubt that NR will have friendly disagreements with Senator Brown on many issues. But Brown ran on tax cuts, tough interrogations of terrorists, and opposition to a federal takeover of health care and a bank tax. If that is a winning platform in Massachusetts, it will surely be one elsewhere. article.nationalreview.com

To: Sully- who wrote (76871)	1/20/2010 8:33:04 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 90947

The Vindication of the Cambridge Cop and a Word of Caution for the GOP Alvin S. Felzenberg The Corner Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts is more than just a defeat for President Obama and the priorities his administration has established during his first year in office. It is an outright rejection of the "identity" politics he and his party have championed for more than a generation. A friend of mine put it best when he asked me when the Democratic party ceased voicing the concerns of ordinary Americans, working-class Americans, ethnic voters, and people trying not just to make ends meet, but to actually get ahead? I told him 1972. That was the year the Democrats nominated George McGovern. They treated themselves to one heck of a convention at which group after group championed its "rights" and voiced its "grievances." Come fall, Nixon won 49 states. Massachusetts was the sole state McGovern carried, along with the District of Columbia. Tonight Massachusetts finally caught up with the rest of the country. How Obama reacts will determine the fate of his presidency, along with that of the country. History may remember tonight’s Massachusetts returns as the vindication of the Cambridge cop. Last summer, readers will recall, the White House demanded yet another hour of prime time from the networks. It promised that at last the president would spell out the kind of health-care plan he would support. At the end of a boring hour, Obama came to life when Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times asked him to comment on the case of the Harvard professor and the Cambridge cop. Interestingly, in the absence of facts, the president -- who, citing "pending investigations," chooses not to comment on what the government did or did not know about what led to the attacks at Fort Hood and the attempted Christmas Day plane bombing -- declared that the Cambridge police, in responding to a call about a possible burglary, "acted stupidly" in arresting an African-American professor in his own home. All parties, including the professor, maintained at the time that the professor had been anything but "cooperative" with the officer who had answered a neighbor's call. For weeks, the nation engaged in yet another of its periodic "conversations" about race. It was a scene worthy of The Bonfire of the Vanities: A white Cambridge police officer, having been praised for his work to promote diversity and tolerance, residing in a modest home, becomes a nationally known figure, courtesy of the president of the United States. Meanwhile, the African-American professor, reported to own more than one European-made luxury car, as well as a summer home in Martha's Vineyard, talks of pending book deals and PBS documentaries about the case. The endless "dialogue" ended in a celebrated "beer summit," with the officer carefully "muzzled" by his union handlers. One cannot help but wonder how many uniformed personnel voted for Ms. Coakley this week. She probably destroyed any chance she had with many of them the instant she suggested that pro-life Catholics should not work in emergency rooms. Many of the rest took a walk after she confessed all but total ignorance about her state's beloved Boston Red Sox. Democrats in Washington, in their insistence on ramming through some version of health-care "reform" -- the voters be damned -- bring to mind the knight in the old Monty Python movie who, after losing all four limbs, insists on taking on his assailant with his tongue. As the Democrats rush full steam ahead into a buzz saw, the GOP has choices of its own to make. Will they allow the media and their opposition to cast them as the Party of No, or will they demonstrate that, after losing their way at least since 2006, they are capable of governing? A few suggestions: 1) Do not gloat. Commend the people of Massachusetts on the wise choice they made and on their good judgment. Hail Scott Brown's win as the first step on a long road to building a 50-state Republican party. 2) Call upon the president to start again on health care, and offer your help. 3) Offer to support a scaled-back version of pending legislation while demanding the following provisions as the price of GOP support: -- a provision mandating that insurance not be denied to people with pre-existing conditions. -- language allowing portability of coverage from job to job. -- elimination of lifetime "caps" on coverage for diseases like cancer. -- assurance of nationwide competition by providers to lower costs. -- ceilings on malpractice claims. For the first time in many years, the GOP may find itself in a "win/win" position. If it takes the "make them say no" approach, the Republican party can force Obama to choose between knee-jerk allegiance to his leftist base and actually doing something that will work to the benefit of the American people. If the president and his team reject the GOP's extended hand, they will come across to voters as exceedingly partisan and divisive. If Democrats move in their direction, the voters will regard the Republicans as both reasonable and right. They will enter the 2010 election perfectly poised to add significantly to their numbers both in Congress and in state houses across the nation. Building on their Massachusetts win, Republicans should call upon the president to focus on issues of primary concern to the American people, like jobs. They should offer clear alternatives to what Obama proposes and seek voter input and comment through the kind of social networking Scott Brown perfected in his campaign. His voice will be one that extends well beyond the borders of Massachusetts. -- Alvin S. Felzenberg, author of The Leaders We Deserved and a Few We Didn't: Rethinking the Presidential Rating Game, is writing a book about NR founder William F. Buckley Jr. corner.nationalreview.com

To: Sully- who wrote (76871)	1/20/2010 8:36:25 AM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

Even Barney Frank Gets It By: Rich Lowry The Corner Here: <<< I have two reactions to the election in Massachusetts. One, I am disappointed. Two, I feel strongly that the Democratic majority in Congress must respect the process and make no effort to bypass the electoral results. If Martha Coakley had won, I believe we could have worked out a reasonable compromise between the House and Senate health care bills. But since Scott Brown has won and the Republicans now have 41 votes in the Senate, that approach is no longer appropriate. I am hopeful that some Republican Senators will be willing to discuss a revised version of health care reform because I do not think that the country would be well-served by the health care status quo. But our respect for democratic procedures must rule out any effort to pass a health care bill as if the Massachusetts election had not happened. Going forward, I hope there will be a serious effort to change the Senate rule which means that 59 votes are not enough to pass major legislation, but those are the rules by which the health care bill was considered, and it would be wrong to change them in the middle of the process. >>> corner.nationalreview.com

To: Sully- who wrote (76871)	1/20/2010 8:39:51 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 90947

Shadegg on the Health-Care Bill By: Kathryn Jean Lopez The Corner Statement: <<< “Tonight’s landmark election is a referendum on the flawed policies and agenda of the Obama Administration, Speaker Pelosi, and Leader Reid. The people of Massachusetts undeniably rejected special deals and legislative bribes. “House Democrats can’t in good conscience vote for the ‘Cornhusker Kickback’ that Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) himself called ‘a mistake.’ No self-respecting lawmaker can cast a ‘yes’ vote on this health care bill, and, if they do, they will pay the price in November. “The Massachusetts Senate race that concluded tonight has only focused and reinvigorated the fight to expose the kickbacks for insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry contained in the Democrats’ takeover of health care. Deals like the one Senator Nelson made exempting the people of Nebraska from Medicaid costs while adding to the burden of Americans everywhere aren’t going unnoticed. “Every Democrat Member watching this historic night should pay attention and reject the Senate bill. In the words of tonight’s victor, Scott Brown: ‘What happened here in Massachusetts can happen all over America!’ “No House Democrat can vote to exempt Nebraska taxpayers from the burden of an expanded Medicaid tax imposed by the Senate bill, but impose that cost on their own taxpayers! Even Senator Ben Nelson, who cut this ugly deal, has admitted it isn't fair to the taxpayers of the other 49 states.” >>> corner.nationalreview.com