Pelosi: If insurance companies raise rates, they can be excluded from exchanges

Which is good news IF they want to be in the exchanges. Yes, many of the exchange insurees will have their premiums paid for by the feds, but while some of them may be healthy kids, others may be unhealthy people who haven't had insurance for years, if not decades. It remains to be seen if the exchanges will attract insurers, and what rates the exchanges will charge. Guess we'll find out in 2014.

Asked if insurance companies might raise their rates on health coverage and blame the increases on the new health-care bill, Pelosi said that the insurance companies should be aware that they’re not “automatically included” in the new health exchanges the bill creates.

“Unless they do the right thing, they’re not going in,” she said. “They will be relinquishing the possibility of having taxpayer-subsidized consumers in the exchange,” she said.

Under the new law, the health exchanges Pelosi referred to will be created in 2014. By pulling customers together, they will give individuals and companies a better chance of bargaining when they buy health insurance. Because the exchanges are expected to serve millions of new customers, insurance companies will want to be part of them.

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Former Bush speechwriter kicked out of conservative think tank for disagreeing with GOP legislative strategy on HCR

The big tent, if there ever was one, just got folded up.

I've met David Frum twice. Both times with the French (first, breakfast with the ambassador, then lunch with a visiting Internet aide to the French presidency). I was prepared not to like him, but the more I chatted with him, the more reasonable he sounded. I've since spoken to friends who know him, and they like him too. I'm not saying he's going to turn all hopey-changey any time soon, but he has an interesting mind. And that's probably what got him kicked out of AEI.

More from the NYT:

The party, Mr. Frum said, put politics over policy in trying to damage Mr. Obama’s agenda, and lost both the political battle and the ability to influence a key piece of legislation. In a column Mr. Frum posted at the FrumForum, he wrote that the House passage of the health care bill had become the Republicans’ “Waterloo,” rather than Mr. Obama’s, as a leading G.O.P. senator had once warned.

As of Thursday, Mr. Frum had become a former fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Another conservative, Bruce Bartlett, added this:

Since, he is no longer affiliated with AEI, I feel free to say publicly something he told me in private a few months ago. He asked if I had noticed any comments by AEI "scholars" on the subject of health care reform. I said no and he said that was because they had been ordered not to speak to the media because they agreed with too much of what Obama was trying to do.

It saddened me to hear this. I have always hoped that my experience was unique. But now I see that I was just the first to suffer from a closing of the conservative mind. Rigid conformity is being enforced, no dissent is allowed, and the conservative brain will slowly shrivel into dementia if it hasn't already.

Sadly, there is no place for David and me to go.

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1 in 4 Republicans think Obama may be the anti-Christ, 38% think he's doing many things that Hitler did

This isn't funny. We have a serious problem in this country, and any sane Republicans who are left had better get a hold of their party. Hard to read these results and not think "Timothy McVeigh."

Per the latest Harris poll, the number of Republicans who think Obama...

- Is a socialist (67%)
- Wants to take away Americans' right to own guns (61%)
- Is a Muslim (57%)
- Wants to turn over the sovereignty of the United States to a one world government (51%); and
- Has done many things that are unconstitutional (55%).
- Resents America's heritage (47%)
- Was not born in the United States and so is not eligible to be president (45%)
- Is the "domestic enemy that the U.S. Constitution speaks of" (45%)
- Is a racist (42%)
- Want to use an economic collapse or terrorist attack as an excuse to take dictatorial powers (41%)
- Is doing many of the things that Hitler did (38%).
- Even more remarkable perhaps, fully 24% of Republicans believe that "he may be the Anti-Christ" and 22% believe "he wants the terrorists to win."

The results are from the first week of March. (Hat tip: Mediaite.) Read More......

Teabaggers don't like Dick Armey

You create a monster, you nurture it, you set it free on the unsuspecting village, and then it turns on you.

It seemed a strange fit to begin with – a former House Republican leader turned $750,000-a-year Washington lobbyist who resurfaced as perhaps the single most identifiable leader of a populist, anti-Washington movement.

And in recent weeks, Dick Armey has found himself targeted by a quiet, but concerted campaign from fellow conservatives challenging – and seeking to undermine – his status as a leader of the tea party movement.

Critics ranging from prominent conservatives to bloggers to grassroots tea party activists have called into question whether Armey’s stances on illegal immigration and social issues, his candidate endorsements and his past lobbying work are fundamentally inconsistent with the tea party movement. They also have suggested he raised the white flag too early in the fight over the Democratic healthcare overhaul and is beholden to corporate benefactors, and have accused him of trying to hijack the tea parties to serve those benefactors or his own personal political ambitions.

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Chat is over.... with Cong. Alan Grayson (D-FL)

Thanks everyone who joined our chat. You can still read the transcript by clicking on the box below.

We're now hosting a live chat with Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida. You can click the chat box below and submit your questions for Cong. Grayson now. Many readers already submitted their questions. Join us for the chat live and submit your own questions.

You may remember Grayson as one of the few Democrats not afraid to speak his mind when challenging Republicans. One of his more memorable moments was the time Grayson took on Sarah Palin. But our favorite is the time he took on the GOP health care plan and really ticked off the Republicans.

The chat is about whatever you want - all questions are welcome. We're using the same chat software we used for the State of the Union. Thanks.

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Coming up in a few minutes, our live chat with Cong Alan Grayson (D-FL)

Should be in a few minutes, stay tuned. Read More......

White powder, threatening letter, sent to Rep. Weiner's (D-NY) office

And so it continues. Read More......

Remember the time the RNC did the ad showing Pelosi getting shot, blood and all?

But seriously, the GOP is not responsible for all the violent threats against Democratic members of Congress. Read More......

Teabaggers now discussing protesting the home of the Senate parliamentarian

Roll Call:

"Tea party protesters are reportedly planning a protest at the home of Senate Parliamentarian Alan Frumin later this week, prompting Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance Gainer to work with local law enforcement officials to ensure Frumin's safety. Gainer said Wednesday night that while neither Frumin nor his family have been threatened, activists have discussed protesting at his house."

Mind you. This isn't awfully different from what the Teabaggers did last August, when they angrily stormed Democratic health care forums around the country. At the time, Speaker Pelosi tried to speak out against the rather scary uprising, but the White House undercut her and defended the protesters. The Democrats gave the Teabaggers an inch - and basically ran from them in fear over the ensuing months - so it's not surprising that the Teabaggers have taken a mile. If you don't stand up to these things early on, they get worse. If you show weakness, your adversary will take advantage of it.

Also, this goes to a larger problem, enabled by the GOP, and unchallenged by the Democrats. Republicans like to undermine our Democratic institutions since, for whatever reason, Democracy isn't a very accommodating setting for Republican ideas, values and candidates. They try to convince people that the media shouldn't be trusted, that the courts are all shills for "activists," that the rules of Congress don't apply to Republicans (that validly passed legislation is illegitimate), and that the presidency isn't even validly held. The Republicans are, in a very real way, undermining our democracy. And Democrats aren't doing nearly enough to challenge them.

So it is any wonder that the Teabaggers are racist, homophobic, and prone to violent talk (and perhaps even action)? Read More......

Senate passes HCR reconciliation bill 56-43

McJoan has more. Read More......

Workers fired for credit scores hit close to home for White House

I'm with Kucinich on this one. We can't hand over the farm to Wall Street and then fire workers like this because of credit scores. Wall Street would never work again if we bothered to look at their credit score, but that's not what happened, is it? Let one of the Wall Street boot-lickers from the White House explain to the country why it's fair to let this happen. Either treat everyone the same and shut down Wall Street or bring these people back. They deserve to be paid any losses for this as well. ABC News:

Employees at a government agency in Cleveland which processes President Barack Obama's paycheck risk losing their jobs because they have failed credit report checks, according to Troy Marshall, a union leader at the Cleveland office of Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS).

He says tighter security clearance rules introduced by the Pentagon five years ago have cost 25 DFAS Cleveland workers their jobs and threaten another 42. The rules are unfair, he says, because these employees don't handle classified information and are struggling to dig out of debt due to the economic crisis.

"We've had people who have tried to get their debt consolidated […] but in this economy you can't get loans," says Marshall, who also works as a management assistant at DFAS and who claims he was suspended after 17 years because of $6,000 he owes on credit card and hospital bills.

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Writer's 'Happy Meal' refuses to decompose after one year

What's a McDonald's Happy Meal look like after it's been sitting outside for a year? Pretty much the same as the day it was made. Read More......

WH won't help re-elect Dems who voted against HCR

And that, my friends, is what a President can do to influence legislation on the Hill. A number of naysayers were questioning whether the President of the United States had any power to influence legislation. He is, after all, they argue, the head of a separate but equal branch of government. That means there's little he can do to influence legislation (they claim).

Naive, and untrue.

Senior White House and organized labor officials are warning the handful of House Democrats who supported health care legislation last year only to oppose the final measure on Sunday that they shouldn’t expect assistance for their reelection campaigns this fall.

The five who switched from yes to no — Reps. Michael Arcuri of New York, Marion Berry of Arkansas, Daniel Lipinski of Illinois, Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts and Zack Space of Ohio — have so annoyed top Democrats that there is also open talk of finding opponents to ensure they pay a steep political price for changing their vote.

It might have been nice for the White House to realize this, and/or be willing to exercise this option, before the most conservative health care reform bill in Congress became the law of the land. But putting that aside, let's stop with the talk about how it's all up to Congress. It's not. Read More......

Sec. Gates on DADT: 'I do not recommend a change in the law before we have completed our study.'

Today, I watched Secretary Robert Gates hold a press briefing to announce a new "more humane" policy for discharging servicemembers under DADT. More on that development at AMERICAblog Gay. But, the big news was, unfortunately, that Gates doesn't want a legislative change to the law until the Pentagon's study is complete. That study won't be finished until the end of this year or early next year.

Our best chance to repeal DADT is this year. In the State of the Union, the President promised to do it this year:

This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.

We expect and need it to happen this year. But, Gates just undermined those efforts with the statement:

I do not recommend a change in the law before we have completed our study.

Gates did acknowledge that the study is about "how" to repeal the law, not "whether" to repeal it. The law should be repealed this year with a delayed implementation until the study is completed. That idea, first proposed by Servicemembers United ("Set End-date / Delayed Implementation"), would serve the needs of all the parties. Read More......

More threats from Teabaggers against members of Congress

This is my favorite quote from the article:

Rep. Jim Moran, a fiery Virginia Democrat, got a visit from tea party activists at his office earlier this week. Aides got between the burly lawmaker and the activists. The activists, according to the congressman, asked whether he needed “bodyguards” to protect him.

“We’re not protecting him from you,” the aides said, according to Moran. “We’re protecting you from him.”

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Senate GOPers find procedural problems in reconciliation bill, so House will have to vote again

It's not over for the House of Representatives. They're going to have to take another vote on the reconciliation package. The Republicans found some procedural issues with the current bill. Ryan Grim reports:

Senate Republicans succeeded early Thursday morning in finding two flaws in the House-passed health care reconciliation package. Neither is of any substance, but the Senate parliamentarian informed Democratic leaders that both are in violation of the Byrd Rule.

One is related to Pell Grants and the other makes small technical corrections. Why they're in violation of the Byrd Rule doesn't matter; the upshot is that Republicans will succeed in at least slightly altering the legislation, which means that the House is once again required to vote on it. With no substantial changes, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) should have little problem assembling the same coalition of 220 Democrats who passed the measure Sunday night. That's already four more than the minimum 216 required for passage.

So, the parliamentarian ruled with the Republicans. The bill is now different, so the House will have to vote again.

The whole point of this process was to prevent any changes so the House would be done. But, now that it's different, Ryan asks if the public option is an option:

But the ruling might give Democrats another option -- the public one.

Democratic leadership no longer has to worry that additional amendments would send it back to the House, since it must return to the lower chamber regardless. The Senate is now free to put to the test that much-debated question of whether 50 votes exist for a public option. Democrats could also elect to expand Medicare or Medicaid, now that they only need 50 votes in the Senate and the approval of the House.

Now, that would be showing some boldness and leadership. If it's going to happen, some Senate Democrat will have to make it happen today. Read More......

Thursday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

The big news is the stunning, but not unexpected, revelation that the Pope was directly involved in protecting a monster, a priest who admitted to molesting over 200 deaf boys. It's just so revolting. Hard to understand how Benedict maintains any moral authority after seeing how he coddled this depraved priest.

The President is heading to Iowa City, Iowa today -- back to where it all began. According to the White House Daily Guidance:

President Obama first announced his health care plan in Iowa City in May 2007, launching a grassroots campaign for reform that led directly to the legislation passed this week.

The Senate continues work on the reconciliation bill today. But, over night, we learned that the bill will have to go back to the House for another vote because of some procedural issues identified by the GOPers. More on this later.

Early this morning, the Senate did defeat, by a vote of 36 - 59, Utah's Senator Bob Bennett's anti-marriage amendment. All the Democrats voted against it, joined by Senators Snowe and Collins.

This morning, Secretary Gates is going to announce new policies for Don't Ask, Don't Tell. As John tweeted last night, it's "kinder and gentler bigotry." We were promised a full repeal and that's what we expect. Over the next few weeks, the Obama administration will be sending policy and budget recommendations to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees for inclusion in the Defense Authorization. If Obama really wants the DADT repealed this year, repeal language will be included those recommendations. If he doesn't include repeal, that sends a powerful signal, too. A lot of people seem very concerned about what the White House will do. We're watching. Closely. Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, who is rumored to be the campaign manager for the reelection effort, is the staffer handling this issue. Let's see if he delivers on a 2008 campaign promise for his boss. "Kinder and gentler" isn't enough.

Okay, it's going to be a busy day...let's get started. Read More......

Bone fragment from previously unknown human ancestor discovered

What an amazing discovery. It will be interesting to see if any other similar finds will be discovered in the region or elsewhere in the world.To the trained eye of the palaeontologist, the tiny fragment of fossilised bone can be identified as coming from the little finger of a child who lived about 40,000 years ago in the Altai mountains of southern Siberia. But in the hands of molecular biologists, the bone has revealed that it belonged to a new lineage of human being, an unknown "hominin" who, although human, was not a member of our own species, Homo sapiens.

The finger-bone was unearthed in 2008 from the floor of Denisova Cave, a rock shelter known to have been inhabited by ancient humans for several hundred thousand years. Now, after exhaustive tests on DNA extracted from the fragment, scientists can reveal that in Siberia at this time there lived a hitherto unknown type of human who was neither Homo sapiens nor Neanderthal, the only other human species living in the area at about this time.

It raises the intriguing possibility that in this part of central Asia about 40,000 years ago three species of human were living alongside one another, perhaps for thousands of years. Nothing is known of how they interacted or whether they interbred but it is clear that only one of the three species survived, anatomically modern humans. Read More......

Ukraine PM: women not fit for politics

If you thought the Chinese police were bad, this guy is even worse. How could anyone possibly think like this and be responsible for governing a country? It doesn't say much about their future as long as he's around together with the new president who is another knuckle-dragger.

Women's groups in Ukraine have angrily reported Azarov – who presides over an all-male cabinet – to the country's ombudsman following his remarks last week. They accuse him of gender discrimination and holding Neanderthal views.

Speaking on Friday, Azarov said Ukraine's economic problems were too difficult for any woman to handle.

"Some say our government is too large; others that there are no women," he said. "There's no one to look at during cabinet sessions: they're all boring faces. With all respect to women, conducting reforms is not women's business."

Ukraine's new woman-free government was capable of working 16 hours a day with "no breaks and weekends", Azarov boasted.

The prime minister's gaffe echoes comments made recently by the man who appointed him – Ukraine's new president, Viktor Yanukovych. During February's election campaign, Yanukovych declared that his female opponent, Yulia Tymoshenko, should "go to the kitchen".

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