US POLITICS: AMERICANS, PLEASE WELCOME YOUR NEW PRESIDENT... SCOTT BROWN!

Aw man, that sucks. RIP. His stuff was excellent.

Harkin said reconciliation is a go earlier. its gonna happen, but its still gonna be several weeks (CBO estimates dontchaknow)

house still has to pass it iirc?

that's the first step

then reconciliation to resolve financing and budget issues, i believe. that's why i don't see how the public-option is available via reconciliation -- it isn't a financing and/or budget issue.

Exclusive: RNC document mocks donors, plays on 'fear'

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/33866.html

Normally I mock everything Politico posts, but this one looks interesting. Neat little presentation on how to scare money out of small donors. Looks real enough even if it is a fake.

example slide:

http://images.politico.com/global/slideshow/100303_slide5.jpg

daniel from what i've read/heard no one is seriously talking about the public option anymore

didn't actually harbor any hope for it in the first place iirc

obv :(

Sherrod Brown is talking about introducing the public option as its own bill if it doesn't get included in the general reform plans. Which is proof to me that it's not happening...

public option costs money = it impacts the budget = it could theoretically go through reconciliation

but yeah it's dead

k3vin, there are at least 33 or 34 senators who claim they would support passing a public option via reconciliation. but i just don't see it. shakey, i hear you, but it was my understanding that the mere fact a public-option "impacts the budget" is enough to make it available in reconciliation. virtually every prospective congressional act "impacts the budget." the public option sounds like a policy provision that can't be adopted in reconciliation.

but, obv., i'm wrong about this point. otherwise, these senators wouldn't be announcing their support for a public-option in reconciliation (it would be a futile gesture).

Meanwhile anti-abortion House Dems are threatening to torpedo Health Care unless the wording on that issue reflects their views as opposed to the Senate language.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124265069&ft=1&f=3

Yeah, I looked at that story and none of the Congresspeople quoted for their anti-choice stance are women, so quelle surprise.

Not really looking for that senior vote, guys? Pretty stupid IMHO...

The Senate has rejected President Barack Obama's proposal to give a $250 bonus payment to people on Social Security.

http://www.salon.com/news/2010/03/03/us_senate_social_security_bonus/index.html

Proportionally, old people get way too much gravy, thx.

was that a one time $250? those are the sorts of things that seem completely useless to me anyway.

Yeah but picture being old and living off ss, with medicare premiums going up in 2k10 and ss staying where it is. You've seen the giving out of massive bailouts in the face of public derision, and then suddenly when a measly chunk of extra change could be coming your way it's voted down in the spirit of fiscal responsibility.

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press/factsheet.asp?counter=3534

was that a one time $250? those are the sorts of things that seem completely useless to me anyway.

Not as stimulus

our bingo halls and buffet restaurants are dangerously over-leveraged, state intervention is necessary.

It's a sad but sobering truth that in our day and age there are buffet restaurants too big to fail.

so, caving on KSM? well done mr. president.

LINDSEY GRAHAM WILL DEFINITELY ASSENT TO CLOSING GUANTANAMO NOW THAT WEVE UTTERLY CAPITULATED ON DOING THE RIGHT THING

guaranteed to sasisfy dick cheney, and all his kids too

I can't see the point. Is it going to shut the Republicans up? Fuck no. Is it the right thing to do? Not after everything he said during the campaign and previous to that. Just stick him on trial and ignore them!

xpost - oh, getting Graham onside. Doesn't seem worth it, to be honest...

this DOJ lawyer Al-Qaeda stuff is some fucking bullshit

i can't believe the admin thinks that shit is working... but washington is a weird place

yeah that shit is utterly despicable, glad to see theyre getting pushback from some conservatives but cant believe the wolf blitzer thing on it yesterday

xp

wolf blitzer is dumber than a bag of hammers

cnn is unquestionably the most embarrassing news network

i think it's really the only embarrassing news network, of the big 3 -- the others are... corrupt, evil, hypocritical, pandering (take your pick) but not necessarily embarrassing. CNN is embarrassing.

i wrote the president a letter. faintly embarrassing...

Didn't Blitzer run a "Dept of Jihad?" segment yesterday?

yes, that's what Max is referring to

Thankfully I don't subscribe to cable.

i wrote the president a letter. faintly embarrassing...

― goole, Friday, March 5, 2010 10:23 AM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark

daer obama,

>:(

<3,

goole

basically yeah

don't really care about the KSM trial announcement since its so obviously a political maneuver - the only important thing to ask about it is what does the administration hope to achieve by publicizing a "potential" decision at this particular point in time...? Like, are they trying to rally/provoke political support from the left to give Obama cover for a civilian trial in NY? Are they testing the waters to see how much blowback there will be if they go the military tribunal route? Since nothing's decided it seems pointless to pre-emptively complain about it.

i wrote the president a letter. faintly embarrassing...

i will also complain.

DEAR INTERNET:

Rahm doesn't wanna do anything to upset his new BFF Lindsey Graham.

lindsey graham is a fucking choad. if your strategy for the country involves him in any way you're fucking up somewhere. (did not put this in my letter)

The administration's strategy mystifies me. If the WaPo story is to be believed, Obama hopes to concede the KSM trial to the military commission in the hope of getting a Guantanamo closure. But wouldn't you get, I dunno, more political "cover" if you show how effective the civilian courts can be?

i think they'd get more political cover if they just treated any member of the GOP like absolute shit at all times. psychotics only respect getting chopped in the throat. imo.

Here's a way to make sense of it (notice I didn't say *justify* it): in parts of the world where Guantanamo is hurting the USA's image, the distinction between civilian courts and military tribunals is pretty hazy. So trading off on this to get a Guantanamo closure is "worth it".

if you show how effective the civilian courts can be?

this trial is going to take years tho...

like if O has to wait for the civilian courts demonstrate their efficacy, he may not longer be in office

not = no

So trading off on this to get a Guantanamo closure is "worth it".

What makes you think the GOP will concede this?

what makes you think the DEMS will concede this?

I was laying it out as a foreign policy move, so to speak, not a move aimed at domestic politics.