Baucus and his obsession (or fixation) with bipartisanship

From The Hill:

President Barack Obama wants Senate Democrats to be prepared to move on healthcare without Republicans if necessary, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Tuesday.

That should send a pretty big signal to Max Baucus. Even, Obama is no longer clinging to the fast fading hope of a bipartisan health care bill.

There's also important info. for Max Baucus in the quote below from his Democratic colleague, Jay Rockefeller:

Underscoring the dissatisfaction brewing among Democrats, however, Rockefeller said after the White House meeting that Baucus risks losing support within his own party if he moves the bill too far from the left to win over the three Republicans.

"If you can get the three that doesn’t mean you can hold on to all of ours and as you move more away from what most Democrats feel is important, then it becomes harder to hold not just the more conservative Democrats but maybe some of the more liberal Democrats," Rockefeller said.

It sounds like Democratic Senators and the White House are going to need to stage an intervention. I'm really starting to wonder if Baucus has become addicted to being in the spotlight. All of DC is buzzing about him. He's getting tons of attention. He's like the king of his little world. The White House has to kiss his ass. Something like that has to explain his obsession with getting a deal with Republicans. But, ever so slowly, it sounds like his fellow Democrats are getting fed up. (That's because people who live in the real world know that GOPers want to kill reform.)

I'm with Markos on this one. It's not the process, it's the result:

The American people would trade an ineffective or watered down reform package in exchange for "bipartisanship"?

I know the Beltway and people like Baucus have an unhealthy obsession with process, but no one gives a damn how good legislation got passed, but that good legislation gets passed.

No one gives a damn. No one cares. A Baucus/bipartisan bill will be a GOP bill. That's not going to be good legislation. Read the rest of this post...

CT Republicans in action -- and it's ugly. Really ugly.

Classy Republican/Teabaggers/Birthers were out-of-control in Connecticut yesterday. (Note to Max Baucus: This is the base of the GOP. They won't accept a "bipartisan" bill):

Hat Tip, MyLeftNutmeg.

In case you missed it, Senator Dodd was diagnosed with prostate cancer last week. Read the rest of this post...

The Sotomayor confirmation floor debate has begun

The nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court is now being debated on the floor of the U.S. Senate:

The Senate opened debate Tuesday evening on the Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, as Republicans sought to rally opposition to President Obama's nominee on grounds that she represents a dangerous new standard of judicial "empathy" rather than impartiality in deciding cases.

Defending Sotomayor at the start of the debate, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said her record as a federal judge belies accusations that she would bring personal biases to the Supreme Court.

"No one has pointed to decisions that evidence bias," Leahy said. "She is a restrained and fair and impartial judge who applies the law to the facts in deciding cases."

Earlier today, Scotusblog reported that Sotomayor has more than enough votes to be confirmed. CSPAN2 is keeping a running tally during the floor debate, which shows 57 yes votes and 28 no votes, so far. This is really isn't a debate in the Senate, it's theater, mostly for the conservatives. So, we'll keep an eye on things to see what Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III and his fellow right wingers have to say. And, very soon, she will be Justice Sotomayor. (I just watched Orrin Hatch (R-UT) gives his floor speech. It was painful. Inhofe (R-OK) is on the floor now. He's worse.) Read the rest of this post...

CNN already asking: Could Clinton's "high-profile presence backfire?"

UPDATE: It's official. Bill Clinton has departed North Korea with the two journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee. I got this breaking news alert at 7:44 PM. So, CNN was wondering if the trip would backfire before we even officially knew Clinton had successfully freed the women.
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That didn't take long. I got my first breaking news alerts about North Korea pardoning the two American journalists at 3:27 PM.

By 6:35 PM, CNN was already wondering if the trip could backfire.

Here's a blow up of the Chyron:

Is CNN trying to become FOX? Maybe Lou Dobbs is infecting the whole network.

I've watched way too much CNN today. Way too much. Read the rest of this post...

Memo to pundits and the public: Medicare is a government program. Really, it is.

Earlier today, in my post about Rachel Maddow's excellent report exposing the GOP thuggery at Congressional Town Hall meetings, I wrote:

You'll notice there are a lot of angry older people seen in the video from these events. I hope they've all stopped accepting Medicare. Ha. That's the thing about so many of the angry folk. Many are beneficiaries of the very programs they're complaining about. At the Town Hall meetings, might be worth having members of Congress ask who is getting Medicare (or Medicaid or Social Security.) You'll see a lot of hypocrites in the audience.

Surprisingly, we keep seeing reports that many Americans don't know that Medicare and Medicaid are government programs. Nor do some right-wing pundits (supposed "experts") who appear on CNN. Atrios has the quote from Arthur Laffer, an economist who is founder and Chairman of the Laffer Group:

If you like the Post Office and the Department of Motor Vehicles and you think they’re run well, just wait till you see Medicare, Medicaid and health care done by the government.

Um. Okay. Medicare and Medicaid are government programs. We just celebrated the 44th anniversary of President Johnson signing the bill into law. Medicare has its own website: www.medicare.gov. (That .gov url should be a clue.)

Media Matters got the video of Laffer being quite smug as he makes that really stupid statement. it's after the break.


This ignorance is another hurdle in the quest for health insurance reform. Read the rest of this post...

North Korea pardoned two captive American journalists

Nice work, Bill Clinton. Read the rest of this post...

CNN's Crowley dismisses fact that right wing groups are sending protesters to Town Hall meetings

CNN's Candy Crowley has been covering DC and Capitol Hill for years. But, she's off-base and way out-of-touch on what's going on at the Town Hall meetings this summer. In a report today on the protests, she said, "Republicans are also encountering angry voters but Democrats seem to be getting the worst of it and they accuse Republican operatives of sending protesters to their Town Hall meetings, but even if there is any truth to that charge.....the reality is that poll after poll shows that americans are divided about obama style health care reform." Watch her and note the tone:

See, to Candy, this is the usual back and forth of politics. Republicans count on that kind of lazy reporting. That way, the GOP-supported thuggery looks like part of the give and take of politics instead of the extreme behavior that it is. And, Crowley is enabling it.

I'd strongly suggest Candy or her producer watch Rachel's piece from last night. Or, if she doesn't want to watch a competitor, Candy could read Greg Sargent's piece, Anti-Reform Group Takes Credit For Helping Gin Up Town Hall Rallies, because Candy would see that the right wing groups are taking credit for the protests:

Conservatives for Patients’ Rights, the operation that’s running a national campaign against a public health care option, is now publicly taking credit for helping gin up the sometimes-rowdy outbursts targeting House Dems at town hall meetings around the country, raising questions about their spontaneity.

CPR is the group headed by controversial former hospitals exec Rick Scott that’s spending millions on ads attacking reform in all sorts of lurid ways, a campaign that’s being handled by the same P.R. mavens behind the Swift Boat Vets.

In response to my questions, a spokesman for the group confirmed that it has undertaken a concerted effort to get people out to the town hall meetings to protest reform. The spokesperson, Brian Burgess, confirmed that CPR is emailing out “town hall alert” flyers, and schedules of town hall meetings, to its mailing list.

These efforts — combined with CPR’s effort to enlist Tea Party-ers, as reported yesterday by TPM — provide a glimpse into the ways anti-reform groups are trying to create a sense of public momentum in their favor.

So, it's not just Democrats making accusations, per Candy Crowley. It's the right wingers taking credit.

A little more actual reporting and a little less typical, lazy DC reporting would serve the viewers of CNN well. Read the rest of this post...

Could the U.S. send Bush anywhere?

With Bill Clinton on a mission to North Korea (as a private citizen, but still), it got me thinking: Could the U.S. send George W. Bush on a mission anywhere in the world? I really don't think so.

One thing you can say about former Democratic presidents: They continue to serve their country.

It's best for all of us if Bush stays in Crawford. Read the rest of this post...

Rachel on GOP's thuggery strategy: It's "literal intimidation"

What they can't win through elections, the GOP is trying to get through a show of brute force. Many in the traditional media report on this like it's just popping up organically, but it's actually a well thought out strategy intended to be "disruptive."

Rachel calls them out. It's a long piece, but really worth watching:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

You'll notice there are a lot of angry older people seen in the video from these events. I hope they've all stopped accepting Medicare. Ha. That's the thing about so many of the angry folk. Many are beneficiaries of the very programs they're complaining about. At the Town Hall meetings, might be worth having members of Congress ask who is getting Medicare (or Medicaid or Social Security.) You'll see a lot of hypocrites in the audience. Read the rest of this post...

"Senate Democratic Aide" warns of "irreparable harm to the party’s agenda" from liberals (who just expect party to enact its agenda)

Roll Call (sub. req.):

Another Senate Democratic aide said the White House and Senate leaders need to clamp down on the intraparty unrest — particularly the noise coming from the liberal flank — to prevent irreparable harm to the party’s agenda.

This is classic DC speak. The party's agenda is what engaged the liberal flank. Because of that agenda and the liberal flank, we elect Democrats. In fact, that's why Senate Democratic aides have jobs. There is a direct connection between the work that happens in elections and who serves. I swear, many, many people on Capitol Hill prefer to ignore that reality.

Democratic insiders are complaining about the "liberal flank." Why? Because we're asking Obama, the Senate and the House to deliver on the party's agenda. That agenda was laid out by Obama, Senate candidates and House candidates during their campaigns. We don't separate party's political agenda from the party's policy agenda, although people at the White House and on Capitol Hill do. We think that if candidates campaign on ideas and win, the candidates should deliver on those ideas -- but we're viewed as the bad guys for thinking that.

This happens on gay issues all the time. Candidates, like Obama, court the gay vote and, especially, the gay money. They make campaign promises on gay issues like the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT). But, after they win, when gays ask the elected officials to follow through on their campaign promises, we're told we are doing harm to the party's agenda. (I call this political homophobia.) Those LGBT equality promises ARE part of the agenda.

That's what I don't get. If the commitments made during the campaign aren't the party's agenda, what is? And, who determines it? What causes irreparable harm to a party is when its elected officials ignore campaign promises and act like run-of-the-mill politicians who will say anything to win. That's damaging to both the Obama brand and the Democratic party brand. The liberal flank is trying to prevent that damage from happening. Read the rest of this post...

CNN defends its in-house racist, Lou Dobbs. Refuses to run ad from Media Matters.

CNN just insured that the controversy about Lou Dobbs stays alive and in the news. The network won't run the ad about Dobbs produced by Media Matters:

Today, Media Matters for America responded to the news that CNN has refused to air a Media Matters ad calling on the network to credibly address Lou Dobbs' continued promotion of birther conspiracy theories. A CNN spokesperson reportedly told the Politico, "CNN retains the right to object to any ad run by the cable operator on our network whose purpose is to attack CNN or our employees."

Watch "CNN's Dobbs Problem": www.DobbsConspiracy.com.

"This seems like the actions of a network desperate to provide cover for its primetime host rather than living up to its standard of being the most trusted name in news," said Eric Burns, president of Media Matters. "If the ad is accurate -- and we know that it is -- then there is no reason for CNN to block it from its airwaves."

Dobbs is a p.r. nightmare for CNN. But, Jonathan Klein has chosen to coddle his star racist.

And, Klein is using CNN's muscle to prevent the ads from running. A senior official from Media Matters told me this morning, that "We have heard from reliable sources that Turner Broadcasting officials have been 'pressuring' local cable providers to not run the Dobbs ad. Apparently Comcast in DC had no problem running the ad on DC’s CNN channel, however, the company was lobbied by Turner not to do it. Moreover, according to our sources CableVision from NY is refusing to provide any kind of explanation in writing on why they are not running the ad on any of the networks." Refusing the ads is proving to be worth more in free press than what the ads would have cost. Good move, Mr. Klein. Read the rest of this post...

Two Dudes and a webcam: The new Washington Post

Remember the painful video last week from the Washington Post's Milbank and Cillizza? It was a weak attempt at humor. Very weak. Andy Cobb saw it, too. And, he's actually funny. The Post has been Post'd:

Read the rest of this post...

In PA, Rep. Joe Sestak launching Dem. primary challenge against Arlen Specter

There's going to be a Democratic primary for the Senate seat in Pennsylvania next spring. Today, Rep. Joe Sestak is making it official. He's challenging the new Democrat, but long-term Senator, Arlen Specter:

The second-term congressman from Delaware County, a former Navy vice admiral, scheduled a morning rally at his home VFW post in Folsom, followed by a two-day tour that will take him to Pittsburgh, Johnstown, Harrisburg, and Scranton - ending with an appearance tomorrow on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report.

Specter, after four decades as a Republican, nearly three of them in the Senate, switched parties in April, saying the GOP had become too conservative for him to win election to a sixth term.

While President Obama, Gov. Rendell, and much of the party leadership immediately embraced Specter, Sestak is betting that many rank-and-file Democrats won't trust the change. As he barnstormed this summer across the state, Sestak attacked what he called an effort by Washington elites to "anoint" Specter the party nominee.

"It's kind of David vs. Goliath - an insurgency versus the establishment," said pollster G. Terry Madonna of Franklin and Marshall College. "The irony is Sestak is equating it with Obama's battle against Washington and the way it does business."

Specter jumped from the GOP in order to avoid a primary from the right. He's getting a primary anyway. And, this is going to be a battle.

Follow Sestak's announcement tour live via his website: joesestak.com Read the rest of this post...

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Well, good thing those Blue Dogs achieved the "victory" of delaying the vote on health insurance reform. That's opened up the floodgates for the GOPers and their teabagging allies to disrupt town hall meetings and other events back in the districts. That is supposed to be intimidating to members of Congress. It should reinforce their desire to pass real reform. Otherwise, thuggery becomes an acceptable form of politics in the U.S.

Happy Birthday to my friend, Robin Carnahan, the Secretary of State in Missouri, who is running for Senate. It's Obama's birthday, too. He's having the entire Senate Democratic caucus over to the White House for lunch.

Let's get started... Read the rest of this post...

Uganda has its first newborn rhino in almost three decades. And, they've named it Obama.

Okay, this is a cute story. And, there's a reason the rhino is named for Obama:

The first baby rhinoceros born in Uganda in almost 30 years has been named Obama because his father is from Kenya and his mother was born in the US.

Researchers at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary have only recently been able to approach the calf, born at the end of June, because her mother was too aggressively protective earlier.

"He's a real little scamp, running all over the place like crazy, his mum can barely keep up with him," said Angie Genade, director of the sanctuary, 105 miles north of the capital, Kampala.

"Once we could get close enough to see what sex he was, there really was no other name that we could give him." Uganda's rhino population of roughly 450 animals was completely wiped out during the horrors of former President Idi Amin's reign in the 1970s.

Check out the pictures, too. He is a cute little guy, as rhinos go.

Pretty soon, however, there will probably be a major controversy over whether the rhino was actually born in Uganda.

H/T Cat. Read the rest of this post...