John McCain is vewy vewy angwy

This is from this morning, but it's still worth posting. As a result of Democrats passing health care reform, John McCain says that Republicans are no longer going to be nice to them. This would be the same Republicans who refused to vote for the stimulus package one month into Obama's presidency, even after he gave them 35% of the bill in tax cuts. The same Republicans who the President told Max Baucus to negotiate with for months on end, only to find out that - surprise - the Republicans weren't actually interested in negotiating because they didn't want any reform to pass. And now John McCain is saying that all of that great bipartisanship, that never existed, is going to go away.

John McCain is either senile or desperately lying in order to save his re-election. Either way, it ain't pretty. Read the rest of this post...

Lawrence Lessig on the health care 'victory'

Lawrence Lessig via Huff Post:

Obama's victory was achieved because his team played the old game brilliantly. Staffed with the very best from the league of conventional politics, his team bought off PhRMA (with the promise not to use market forces to force market prices for prescription drugs), and the insurance industry (with the promise ... that they would face no new competition from a public option), so that by the end, as [Glenn] Greenwald puts it, the administration succeeded in "bribing and accommodating them to such an extreme degree that they ended up affirmatively supporting a bill that lavishes them with massive benefits." Obama didn't "push[] back on the undue influence of special interests," as he said today. He bought them off. And the price he paid should make us all wonder: how much reform can this administration -- and this Nation -- afford? [...]

The lesson of the health care struggle is not that Republicans are evil. The lesson is the one candidate Obama taught us again and again. That "unless we're willing to challenge the broken system in Washington, and stop letting lobbyists use their clout to get their way, nothing else is going to change." Republicans were just the sock-puppets for that clout this time around, aided by key swing Democrats. And a campaign waged against these sock-puppets will be a useless campaign waged against ½ of America.

Rather than waging that partisan fight, this is the moment to challenge that "broken system." Americans are disgusted by the story of this reform, however much they will come to love the health care it produced. They don't need to be convinced that the "clout" in DC over this past year came not from votes in an election, but from dollars these lobbyists will deliver to a Congress still addicted to campaign cash.

Remind us again, Mr. President, about that "clout." Focus us again on the "fight" that we must "take up." And then take up that fight. That was "the reason," you told us, that you were "running for President [ -- ] to challenge that system." So challenge it now. And give us all the reason to fight to make sure you have 7 more years to deliver on the promises that you made.

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Dan Choi on Kathy Griffin and HRC: 'I feel so betrayed by them.' // Cops refused him his phone call, lawyer, in jail

Lt. Dan Choi, who handcuffed himself to the White House, along with Capt. James Pietrangelo, to protest the President's inaction on Don't Ask, Don't Tell, talks to Newsweek about his arrest and mission. Read the rest of this post...

GOP put 'wanted!' posters on Dem congressmen's seats yesterday in US House

So much for acting like adults. We can expect much more behavior like this if the Republicans ever come back to power in Washington. Read the rest of this post...

Congressman 'Baby Killer!' outed

These guys are in the wrong country.

Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) admitted Monday that he was the lawmaker who shouted "baby killer" toward a colleague during a heated House debate Sunday.

In a statement, the Texas Republican apologized for blurting out "baby killer" during Rep. Bart Stupak's (D-Mich.) speech against a motion to recommit health reform legislation that would have reinserted more stringent restrictions on federal money being used to help purchase insurance plans that cover abortion.

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Google stops censoring search results in China

Hallelujah. Someone needs to inform the Republicans, and FOX News, that THIS is what totalitarianism looks like. Read the rest of this post...

Republican unveils bill to reinstate pre-existing conditions, remove kids from parents' plans, kill puppies, etc

Typical. Should go over real well. Read the rest of this post...

UK bankers furious over preposed new tax

The funny thing is that unlike the US where the GOP can't get any closer to the bankers and try to protect them from their responsibilities, both sides in the UK are supporting taxes on the banks. The details may be a bit different but so far there has yet to be such love and support for bankers as we've witnessed in the US. It still looks like an area that the Democrats need to exploit in the US because what voter really likes bankers in this economy? The UK plans have been borrowed from Obama's plan to tax Wall Street.

Leading City figures hit out this weekend at plans to slap a global tax on investment banks and institutions, set to be detailed by the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, in this week's Budget.

Mr Darling is expected to back a new levy on large banks, funds and companies that pose a systemic risk. Controversially, he will also call for the levied cash to go straight to the Exchequer rather than to a global banks' insurance fund. He will say that Britain's support for a banks' tax would be predicated on international agreement for implementation.

The Tory leader, David Cameron, said that he would go further than Labour, promising to introduce a tax without international support. Mr Cameron said a tax, along the lines of that introduced in the US by President Barack Obama, would raise billions of pounds for taxpayers.

Bankers and trade associations described both plans as naked revenue-raising measures intended to boost Britain's ailing finances rather than addressing issues of bank risk-taking. They added that further taxation was likely to drive more firms away from London and damage the Square Mile's already battered reputation.

"Naked revenue-raising measures" huh. And? So what? Read the rest of this post...

Former Bush speechwriter on GOP's health care debacle - at least Limbaugh will make a buck

David Frum is an influential conservative. This piece by him about the passage of health care reform in the House is a must-read that's flying around town:

No illusions please: This bill will not be repealed. Even if Republicans scored a 1994 style landslide in November, how many votes could we muster to re-open the “doughnut hole” and charge seniors more for prescription drugs? How many votes to re-allow insurers to rescind policies when they discover a pre-existing condition? How many votes to banish 25 year olds from their parents’ insurance coverage? And even if the votes were there – would President Obama sign such a repeal?

We followed the most radical voices in the party and the movement, and they led us to abject and irreversible defeat.

There were leaders who knew better, who would have liked to deal. But they were trapped. Conservative talkers on Fox and talk radio had whipped the Republican voting base into such a frenzy that deal-making was rendered impossible. How do you negotiate with somebody who wants to murder your grandmother? Or – more exactly – with somebody whom your voters have been persuaded to believe wants to murder their grandmother?

I’ve been on a soapbox for months now about the harm that our overheated talk is doing to us. Yes it mobilizes supporters – but by mobilizing them with hysterical accusations and pseudo-information, overheated talk has made it impossible for representatives to represent and elected leaders to lead. The real leaders are on TV and radio, and they have very different imperatives from people in government. Talk radio thrives on confrontation and recrimination. When Rush Limbaugh said that he wanted President Obama to fail, he was intelligently explaining his own interests. What he omitted to say – but what is equally true – is that he also wants Republicans to fail. If Republicans succeed – if they govern successfully in office and negotiate attractive compromises out of office – Rush’s listeners get less angry. And if they are less angry, they listen to the radio less, and hear fewer ads for Sleepnumber beds.

So today’s defeat for free-market economics and Republican values is a huge win for the conservative entertainment industry. Their listeners and viewers will now be even more enraged, even more frustrated, even more disappointed in everybody except the responsibility-free talkers on television and radio. For them, it’s mission accomplished. For the cause they purport to represent, it’s Waterloo all right: ours.

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Let's not forget the 'Republican Health Care Plan'

This is probably a good time to review the GOP health care plan, which Rep. Alan Grayson exposed last September:

Grayson nailed it. Just nailed it. This video seems even more relevant today than it did back in September. Read the rest of this post...

China criticizes Google links to US government

Nice preemptive shot as Google prepares to pick up its ball and go home. I guess China will next talk about the deep government ties between Baidu and the Chinese regime? Google may be right to stop censoring their results but they were wrong and naive to do it in the first place. Of course, they're still partnering with numerous governments around the world to censor results so they're not the knight in shining armor that they'd have everyone believe. BBC:

China's state media has attacked Google for having what it said were "intricate ties" with the US government.

Google provides US intelligence agencies with a record of its search engine results, the state-run news agency Xinhua said.

It also accused Google of trying to change Chinese society by imposing American values on it.

Google denied that it was influenced by the US government, a spokesperson for the company was quoted as saying by AP.

"Google's high-level officials have intricate ties with the US government. It is also an open secret that some security experts in the Pentagon are from Google", reporters from Xinhua wrote in a commentary.

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The GOP's strategy of fear lost yesterday

On the morning after the health care vote, the early consensus is that this was a political victory for President Obama and Speaker Pelosi.

And, then there are the Republicans. Paul Krugman dissected the politics surrounding the health care debate -- and the GOP strategy of fear:

Instead, the emotional core of opposition to reform was blatant fear-mongering, unconstrained either by the facts or by any sense of decency.

It wasn’t just the death panel smear. It was racial hate-mongering, like a piece in Investor’s Business Daily declaring that health reform is “affirmative action on steroids, deciding everything from who becomes a doctor to who gets treatment on the basis of skin color.” It was wild claims about abortion funding. It was the insistence that there is something tyrannical about giving young working Americans the assurance that health care will be available when they need it, an assurance that older Americans have enjoyed ever since Lyndon Johnson — whom Mr. Gingrich considers a failed president — pushed Medicare through over the howls of conservatives.

And let’s be clear: the campaign of fear hasn’t been carried out by a radical fringe, unconnected to the Republican establishment. On the contrary, that establishment has been involved and approving all the way. Politicians like Sarah Palin — who was, let us remember, the G.O.P.’s vice-presidential candidate — eagerly spread the death panel lie, and supposedly reasonable, moderate politicians like Senator Chuck Grassley refused to say that it was untrue. On the eve of the big vote, Republican members of Congress warned that “freedom dies a little bit today” and accused Democrats of “totalitarian tactics,” which I believe means the process known as “voting.”

Fear, it's all the GOP had. It's all they still have. The Republican motto should be, to paraphrase FDR, the only thing we have is fear itself.

It's good to know that one of the media insiders, Newsweek's Howard Fineman, thinks Republican Party was on of the losers in this debate:

The Republican Party: They'll gain seats in the midterms for sure, but not necessarily as many as they are assuming. For one, the world is not going to end if and when the bill becomes law. In fact, nothing much at all will happen. That will be a relief to many, and no grist for the GOP. The Dems will have something to run on. and the Democrats president will look like a winner.

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Monday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Well, that was quite a weekend. The House passed the health insurance reform bill last night. As far as I can tell, the nation is still intact. The heads of a few teabaggers may have imploded, but that's the extent of the damage.

So, now we'll have to see if the Democrats are going to have a spine and continue to pass legislation or if they've done all the hard work they intend to do. The President has made a lot of promises. And, hopefully he learned that when he actually flexes some presidential muscle, things happen.

The health reform action is in the Senate this week. Let's see the extremes to which Mitch McConnell and his caucus will go to obstruct the process. Reconciliation only takes 51 votes. The filibuster won't work on this one, but, Mitch will have some other tricks up his sleeve.

And, don't forget the best news: Rush promised to leave the U.S. if the bill passed. Help push that along here.

There was also a massive immigration reform march on the Mall yesterday. Only over 200,000 people showed up, so naturally the traditional media didn't spend too much time covering the march. There were a couple hundred teabaggers lurking around the Hill and a couple hundred teabaggers warrants intense, wall-to-wall coverage from the traditional media. But, I was there. It was very impressive.

Let's get this week rolling... Read the rest of this post...

Sarkozy's party routed at polls

This will start the "is Sarkozy in trouble for the 2012 elections" debate though somehow I don't get the feeling that will be the case. The center-left won every region except for Alsace with even the previous center-right Corsica changing to the left. It's an impressive win but the left still needs a strong leader if they're going to challenge Sarkozy in the next presidential elections. What is interesting is that people are saying this has a lot to do with Sarkozy's failures during the economic crisis. Compared to the US, UK and many other countries the impact of the recession in France has been limited. Unemployment has moved up but it's hardly as noticeable as other countries. The Guardian:

The leader of France's reinvigorated Socialist party hailed an "unprecedented victory" for the left at the ballot box last night after voters dealt a crushing defeat to Nicolas Sarkozy's rightwing party in regional elections.

With almost all votes counted, official figures indicated that a leftwing alliance led by socialists and ecologists had won 54% of the nationwide ballot, leaving the president's beleaguered UMP party with just 35%.

Across mainland France, the left claimed victory in 21 of the 22 regions. The only chink of light for the UMP came in Alsace. Corsica, which in 2004 was retained by the UMP, fell to the left for the first time since 1984. A relative comeback by the far right Front National, which scored over 20% in two regions, added to the ruling party's woes.

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UK moving forward with private portals for government services

Having a central location for all of these services could easily save a lot of time for people. The big question, as always, is security. The larger the project, the larger the target. Anything involving personal details like this is definitely going to be a target for hackers but the general idea of greater access sounds great. The Independent:

The Prime Minister has previously hailed the potential for the internet to slash the costs of delivering services by reducing paper forms, face-to-face contact with officials, postage, phone calls and building costs.

He is now set to use a speech on Monday to unveil plans to give every voter a unique identifier allowing them to apply for school places, book GP appointments, claim benefits, get a new passport, pay council tax or register a car.

Within another three years, the Times reported, the secure site would include a Facebook-style interactive service allowing people to ask medical advice of their doctor or consult their children's teachers.

The move could see the closure of job centres and physical offices dealing with tax, vehicle licensing, passports and housing benefit within 10 years as services were offered through a single digital "gateway", Downing Street sources told the newspaper.

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Many are questioning Stupak right about now

Via John Amato at C&L;:

TIME.com: Stupak caved
“It's really hard to interpret this as anything other than Stupak caving in order to end up on the side of supporting health reform. There's nothing wrong with that--Stupak has long been a supporter of reforming the health care system--but it's difficult to see why he dragged this out for months if he was going to settle for the Senate language in the end.”

Newsweek: Stupak did not get his original abortion restrictions
“Make no mistake, Stupak did not get the original abortion restrictions for which he had pushed.

Slate: Why did Stupak hold out for meaningless executive order?
“(E)ither because of blowback from pro-choicers* in Congress or because Stupak lost some leverage as the health reform bill acquired more votes, it was not. So a basically meaningless executive order was issued to help Stupak save face.

The New Republic: Executive order doesn’t change anything
“In fact, it's not clear that the executive order actually changes anything: The Senate bill wouldn't have allowed taxpayer funding of abortion anyway.”

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