House Energy and Commerce passed its version of health care

The House Energy and Commerce Committee finally passed a health care bill tonight:

The final vote was 31-28, with five Democrats opposing the measure. Democrats who voted no were Reps. Rick Boucher (Va.), Bart Stupak (Mich.), Jim Matheson (Utah), John Barrow (Ga.) and Charles Melancon (La.). All Republicans rejected the bill.

Negotiations took place throughout the day, partly to make sure the progressives were able to offer some fixes to the Blue Dog's changes. Rep. Tammy Baldwin offered one of the key amendments (a "unity package," which passed by 32 - 26).

I do think this tidbit from The Hill is important:

In a session with reporters, Pelosi wouldn't commit to putting the exact language of the deal with Blue Dogs in the final bill.

"I have three chairmen to deal with," she said. "We have three committees that have to look at it."

The House is in recess til after Labor Day. Because of the Blue Dogs, this bill didn't get a vote in the full House before the break. That gives the GOP and the insurance industry five weeks to try to drive a stake in reform. It gives our side five weeks, too. Read the rest of this post...

Reviews are in for Milbank/Cillizza theatre: "Pathetic, really pathetic" "Not funny at all." "Gratuitously insulting to Hillary Clinton."

Those are my reviews. But, I think they're pretty widespread.

It's bad enough that Dana Milbank said Hillary Clinton should order "Mad Bitch" beer. That's just wrong. But, this whole video is pathetic on a whole other level: It's not funny. Not even close. Only in Washington could two pillars of the "media elite" create a video this bad. Doesn't anyone at the Washington Post have a real sense of humor? Have they no shame?


Seriously, this is embarrassing. Embarrassing. It's painful to watch. And, not at all funny. Read the rest of this post...

Media Matters has an ad on CNN about Lou Dobbs and his birther obsession. Lou Dobbs doesn't like it.

Dobbs is giving all kinds of free publicity to Media Matters and its ad campaign about his birther obsession, which will be running on CNN. The ads notes "CNN Has a Lou Dobbs Problem." And, CNN does indeed have a Lou Dobbs problem.

Dobbs doesn't like Media Matters:

This must make all of those fine reporters at CNN cringe. I mean, Lou Dobbs is fast becoming the best known reporter on all of CNN -- and for all the wrong reasons. Nice work, Jon Klein. This is what happens when you give air time to a racist. Read the rest of this post...

Sleazy tactics from DC-based lobbying firm, Bonner & Associates

Our opponents play dirty:

As U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello was considering how to vote on an important piece of climate change legislation in June, the freshman congressman’s office received at least six letters from two Charlottesville-based minority organizations voicing opposition to the measure.

The letters, as it turns out, were forgeries.

“They stole our name. They stole our logo. They created a position title and made up the name of someone to fill it. They forged a letter and sent it to our congressman without our authorization,” said Tim Freilich, who sits on the executive committee of Creciendo Juntos, a nonprofit network that tackles issues related to Charlottesville’s Hispanic community. “It’s this type of activity that undermines Americans’ faith in democracy.”

The faked letter from Creciendo Juntos was signed by “Marisse K. Acevado, Asst Member Coordinator,” an identity and position at Creciendo Juntos that do not exist.

The person who sent the letter has not been identified, but he or she was employed by a Washington lobbying firm called Bonner & Associates.

Don't think for a minute that these kinds of things don't happen with some frequency. Maybe not so egregiously. And, most don't get caught. But there was this article about DC-based Dewey Square allegedly forging letters to the editor about Medicare.

UPDATE: Think Progress reports Bonner & Associates has quite a history of astroturfing and other shenanigans. Read the rest of this post...

Afghanistan: US has deadliest month as new strategy is developed

July has been the deadliest month to date for U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan.

Today's Washington Post reports on a new U.S. strategy for the war that Bush started, but never even tried to finish:

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan is preparing a new strategy that calls for major changes in the way U.S. and other NATO troops there operate, a vast increase in the size of Afghan security forces and an intensified military effort to root out corruption among local government officials, according to several people familiar with the contents of an assessment report that outlines his approach to the war.

One of our readers, who served in the U.S. Army, was based in Afghanistan. Over the past few years, he's provided some perspective on how things are going and where they may be headed. I asked him for thoughts on the latest developments:

I left Afghanistan almost five years ago (five years ago next week, actually), and at the time I thought that the country was improving marginally, at least what I could see of it. I don't feel that way anymore.

While I do think that the administration genuinely is making a good-faith effort to do the right thing, I have a bad feeling that we're drifting into something awful.

The problem, I think, is that this has always really been about Pakistan, and while the Obama team clearly gets that (AfPak designation, etc), I'm not sure that being aware of it is enough.

When I was in-country (I was stationed in the Pashtun east), I learned a little bit of Pashto, and I would ask the locals playfully, "Bin Laden cherta die? Mullah Omar cherta die?" (Where is Bin Laden? Where is Mullah Omar?) Without hestitation, and generally without smiling, they would point east and say, "pe Pakistan ke ye" -- in Pakistan. Or sometimes "pe Quetta ke ye" even. There was no doubt in any of the Afghans whom I ever met - soldiers, translators, civilians - that the real enemy - "duchman" - came in from Pakistan.

There's more after the break. Very insightful.

Here's the rest:

So what does that mean for the mission? It means that until we can find a way to seal the border more effectively - until we can find away to deny the enemy a base to rest and refit - we're running the risk of just putting off a final day of reckoning. Even if we can restore some semblance of stability to Helmand, for example, if we can't stop the flow of bad guys coming across the mountains, they can replenish themselves endlessly, and can always wait us out. There's two ways that I can think of to stop the flow:

1) We can try to seal the border from the Afghanistan side by putting a lot more troops on the border. This seems nice, and it's something that we can "do" proactively, but I think it throws a lot of bodies into an impossible task. The border is insane - all mountains and caves that we can never know as well as the natives, and that we can never truly patrol 100% of the time. Imagine the Mexican-U.S. border on acid.

2) Pakistan can seal the border from its side. Here, I am way out of my depth. Can they? Do they want to? Can it happen without a settlement with India over Kashmir? Can we help facilitate a settlement? Would even trying to facilitate buy us enough credibility with the ISI or Army for them to want to do this? Are the ISI and the army so fatally compromised by the Taliban that the whole effort is pointless? Is the Pakistani army's current expedition against the Taliban a positive sign, a negative one, or do we not know yet?

I don't know the answers to any of those questions, but I don't have a great feeling about what the answers might be.

Anyway, I've been wrong before about Afghanistan, and hopefully I'll be wrong again. Maybe it is possible that if we can create enough stability throughout Afghanistan itself, then the country will have a chance to stand up its own institutions and protect itself and its own border. It seems like that's our game plan, so let's hope.

Read the rest of this post...

Cash for clunkers lives on

Last night, I posted the news that after only six days, the "cash for clunkers" program was already running out of money. It was that popular.

Well, the program lives on. This afternoon, the House passed legislation giving the clunkers program another $2 billion:

The House approved a bill Friday afternoon to provide $2 billion to continue the federal government's week-old "cash for clunkers" program, which has proven so popular with consumers that it was almost out of cash. The vote was 316 to 109.

I'm trying to get some stats on how many cars have been sold in the past week. It must be some kind of record.

After the break, Obama weighed on "Cash for clunkers" today while talking about the economy. He seems quite pleased with its success and the quick action to keep it going.

Obama's statement from the White House transcript:

Now, one of the steps we've taken to boost our economy is an initiative known as "Cash for Clunkers." Basically, this allows folks to trade in their older, less fuel-efficient cars for credits that go towards buying fewer, more -- newer, more fuel-efficient cars. This gives consumers a break, reduces dangerous carbon pollution and our dependence on foreign oil, and strengthens the American auto industry. Not more than a few weeks ago, there were skeptics who weren't sure that this "Cash for Clunkers" program would work. But I'm happy to report that it has succeeded well beyond our expectations and all expectations, and we're already seeing a dramatic increase in showroom traffic at local car dealers.

It's working so well that there are legitimate concerns that the funds in this program might soon be exhausted. So we're now working with Congress on a bipartisan solution to ensure that the program can continue for everyone out there who's still looking to make a trade. And I'm encouraged that Republicans and Democrats in the House are working to pass legislation today that would use some Recovery Act funding to keep this program going -- funding that we would work to replace down the road. Thanks to quick bipartisan responses, we're doing everything possible to continue this program and to continue helping consumers and the auto industry contribute to our recovery.

So I'm very pleased with the progress that's been made in the House today on the "Cash for Clunkers" program. I am guardedly optimistic about the direction that our economy is going. But we've got a lot more work to do. And I want to make sure that all the Americans out there who are still struggling because they're out of work or not having enough work know that this administration will not rest until the movement that we're seeing on the business side starts translating into jobs for those people and their families.

Read the rest of this post...

Update from John: He had emergency surgery today.

John went back to the emergency room this morning. The doctor said the condition in his eye was getting worse -- and he needed emergency surgery. So, he had the surgery earlier today.

John just called, from the hospital where he has to spend the night, to say things went well. He'll get the patch off tomorrow. But, he's forbidden from doing any reading for a week. Forbidden. He's already obsessing about the blog, but I told him we've got it under control and to get better.

I'll have another update tomorrow. Read the rest of this post...

What will it take for CNN and Fox News to take a stand against racism?

The Lou Dobbs controversy is only growing in magnitude (as his ratings are dropping.) Here's a statement from Media Matters with with an important question:

"It is appalling that less than a year after America elected the first black president, racially motivated fearmongering is allowed to stand in for substantive commentary," said Eric Burns, President of Media Matters. "Just about everyone else in the media recognizes that this race-baiting commentary is unacceptable. What will it take for CNN and Fox News to take a stand?"

What will it take for CNN and Fox News to take a stand against racism?

Okay, there's no hope for FOX. Dobbs, however, is turning CNN into a laughing stock. That network's president, Jon Klein, has to understand that Dobbs is CNN's guy. The network gets the taint of his racism.

Check out the Dobbs/birther video and the DailyKos poll on birthers after the break.

Watch this:

DailyKos had Research 2000 do a poll on the birther phenomenon. Results won't surprise you, but "Birthers are mostly Republican and Southern." Via Markos:

Once again, Republicans find themselves outside the American mainstream. And reality.

Read the rest of this post...

"It's official: we are going to have to fight to protect marriage equality in Maine on November's ballot."

Game on in Maine.

Opponents of same-sex marriage, with massive funding already from the Catholic Church and National Organization for Marriage, have submitted the signatures needed to put a measure on the ballot to repeal Maine's new law:

Opponents of Maine's new gay marriage law have submitted petitions seeking a November referendum on the measure.

Leaders of the Stand for Marriage campaign said Friday they collected more than 100,000 signatures of registered Maine voters.

Cartons containing the petitions have been turned into the secretary of state's office to be certified.

A November referendum will be held if at least 55,087 signatures are certified by Sept. 4. The referendum would ask voters whether the law should stand.

Our side's campaign is now: No on 1/Protect Maine Equality. They want to be very clear that it's a "NO" vote to protect equality. The campaign had a rally yesterday in Portland to gear up for the battle. Jesse Connolly, the campaign manager just sent out an email with the message:

It's official: we are going to have to fight to protect marriage equality in Maine on November's ballot.

Now that we know for sure there will be a public vote, everyone has to step up. Everyone. This can't be another Prop. 8. The LGBT groups, the rich donors, our straight allies, we all have to pitch in to save marriage. Our ActBlue page is here. (Maine is a relatively inexpensive state, so every dollar matters. And, Jesse Connolly, one of the best politicos in Maine, is going to run a very aggressive and sophisticated operation.)

This is going to be the main LGBT equality event of the fall. This is really about keeping our rights. And, we can't lose this time. Help make sure we win. Read the rest of this post...

Sorta good news on the economy: It didn't contract as fast as expected (but the previous quarter was actually even worse)

Less bad is the new good, but it's still not all that good:

The U.S. economy contracted at a slower-than-expected pace in the second quarter, government data showed on Friday, but a sharp drop in consumer spending fanned fears that recovery would be sluggish.

Gross domestic product, which measures total goods and services output within U.S. borders, fell at a 1.0 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said, after tumbling 6.4 percent in the January-March quarter, the biggest decline since a matching fall in the first quarter of 1982. It was previously reported as a 5.5 percent drop.

Atrios, who actually understands this stuff, says "YAAAY," but, "oh wait.' That part about revision of the last quarter up a percentage point caught his attention:

I'm always fascinated by the fact that nobody cares about the revisions. Yes, in the most recent quarter for which we have data the rate of economic contraction was "only" one percent annualized. But the previous quarter was... much worse than previously thought!

Read the rest of this post...

It's been a fundraising frenzy for the Blue Dogs

No wonder Blue Dog Rep. Herseth Sandlin was so ecstatic when the Blue Dogs delayed passage of health insurance reform. The delay bought the Blue Dogs another couple months of obscene fundraising. The Blue Dogs have been sucking up money from the industries impacted by the legislation:

The roiling debate about health-care reform has been a boon to the political fortunes of Ross and 51 other members of the Blue Dog Coalition, who have become key brokers in shaping legislation in the House. Objections from the group resulted in a compromise bill announced this week that includes higher payments for rural providers and softens a public insurance option that industry groups object to. The deal also would allow states to set up nonprofit cooperatives to offer coverage, a Republican-generated idea that insurers favor as an alternative to a public insurance option.

At the same time, the group has set a record pace for fundraising this year through its political action committee, surpassing other congressional leadership PACs in collecting more than $1.1 million through June. More than half the money came from the health-care, insurance and financial services industries, marking a notable surge in donations from those sectors compared with earlier years, according to an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity.

A look at career contribution patterns also shows that typical Blue Dogs receive significantly more money -- about 25 percent -- from the health-care and insurance sectors than other Democrats, putting them closer to Republicans in attracting industry support.

Is anyone surprised? This hasn't been about policy for the Blue Dogs. They've made craven political calculations that are filling up their campaign coffers. Read the rest of this post...

UDPATED: Baucus isn't sure how he'll vote on Sotomayor

UPDATE: This afternoon, Baucus issued a statement support of support for Sotomayor, which I got via email. It reads, in part:

After personally meeting Judge Sotomayor, thoroughly analyzing her judicial record, and reviewing her nomination hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Sotomayor unquestionably meets each of these criteria. Thus, I am proud to support her nomination and will vote to confirm her as a Justice to the United States Supreme Court.

Um, yesterday, Baucus said he hadn't paid any attention to the Sotomayor confirmation process. Today, he's analyzed the record and reviewed the hearings. Too bad he can't work so fast on health insurance reform.
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In case we needed more reasons to loathe Max Baucus, he hasn't decided what to do on Sotomayor's confirmation. The vote is next week. Baucus seems determined to screw up everything on Obama's agenda:

Baucus on Thursday twice told The Hill he is undecided on next week’s floor vote on Sotomayor.

“I have no idea,” Baucus said. “I haven’t paid any attention and I haven’t announced … I’ve been so busy with healthcare. It’s under consideration. I’ll certainly know when I vote, but right now I can’t tell you.”

Yeah, he's been busy delaying and undermining health care reform. Republican Chuck Grassley already voted against her in the Judiciary Committee. And, we've already seen that Grassley controls Baucus on health care. Maybe that extends to the Supreme Court now, too.

But, this episode gives further proof that Baucus shouldn't be the Chair on an important committee. He can't be trusted. Read the rest of this post...

Friday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

The House of Representatives will begin its month-long recess today. Obviously, the health insurance reform bill hasn't passed yet. The Energy and Commerce Committee is working through its version (that's the committee where the Blue Dogs got to make changes.) We'll be monitoring that today.

The Senate stays in for another week. They won't finish health care, but we're going to have a new Supreme Court Justice by the end of next week.

Congress won't be in session, but August is going to be the decisive month. The Republicans, teaming up with the insurance industry and the teabaggers, are on a mission to kill reform. It's all politics for them. Unfortunately, Max Baucus and Kent Conrad in the Senate and the Blue Dogs in the House played right into the hands of the GOP by delaying the legislation.

That's where we are. Let's get it started... Read the rest of this post...

US House passed a food safety bill

After eight years of Bush's lack of regulation, we have to worry about food safety. Really worry. So, the House passed a food safety bill yesterday. From Karina at the Gavel:

This afternoon, the House passed the Food Safety Enhancement Act by a vote of 283-142 to fundamentally change the way we protect the safety of our food supply. Each year, 76 million Americans are sickened from consuming contaminated food and 5,000 of these people die. In just the last few years, there has been a string of food-borne illness outbreaks in foods consumed by millions of Americans each day – from spinach to peppers to peanuts, pistachios and cookie dough. This recent series of outbreaks of food-borne illnesses has demonstrated that they are not random, unpreventable occurrences, but are due to widespread problems with our current food safety system.

I'm trying to figure out how anyone could vote against food safety.

I'm a little obsessed with the subject of late, because I saw the movie, Food, Inc. Watch the trailer. You'll get the gist. Read the rest of this post...

When Petey met Riley

We (and by we, I mean Petey and I) have been noticing a lot of cat pictures on AMERICAblog lately -- and not so many dog pictures. So, tonight, we get a double dose. When we were in Maine a couple weeks ago, Petey met my parent's new dog, Riley. Like Petey, Riley is a rescue. He arrived in Maine from Louisiana via the Chihuahua and Pound Puppy Rescue of Louisiana. Those amazing people rescue dogs from shelters in Louisiana, where euthanasia is almost a certainty and arrange adoptions in Maine through the Golden Retriever Rescue Lifeline. When Riley made the trek north, there were 29 other dogs and two humans traveling with him. The people who do that work are saints. Like Petey, he's a bit of a knucklehead. They had a lot of fun together.



My mother's neighor, Mary Ann, took the pictures for us. Read the rest of this post...