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

chris matthews interviewed the head of americans for prosperity

seem to recall this guy being somehow disgusting on maddow; maybe for hiring 'grassroots' protestors and a history of horrendous lobbying, i forget. still cannot believe the fervid belief in the horror of lengthy legislation.

And now, Michael Moore writes about his congressman, Bart Stupak

One thing i did not know that was Stupak is tight with the C Street Family, to the point of them subsidizing his lodgings.

Having grown up in and lived in Stupak's district for a lot of my life it's kind of cool to see his sudden national profile (and hear a Yooper accent on TV) but damn if this guy isn't a total disgrace.

Moore's right, there's no where in the entire UP to get an abortion, and I knew plenty of women in high school or college who would have a panicky couple of days then suddenly drive 200 miles to Green Bay or 300 to Minneapolis for the weekend.

His system of no convenient abortion or contraception seems to be working out just great as I know plenty of single women in their 30's with kids who are about to graduate high school. They may have struggled like hell during what should have been formative years of their lives, never attended college, brought up the children with no fathers around, stressed out their own parents in terms of time and money, and never been able to save money for their own kids to go to college, thereby getting everyone stuck in this marvelous continuing cycle, but at least they didn't have an abortion.

fyi to anyone feeling mad about stupak or democrats engagement w/ abortion rights issues, hes got a primary challenger who you can contribute to here:

https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/conniesaltonstall

iirc the entire state of Mississippi is the same way. I'll should dbl check w/ my gf but I think the last remaining clinic in Jackson was shut down a couple of years back.

also true in south dakota.

this has to mean they have the votes now.

and this is exactly right about the challenge of gaining support for HCR. that's why this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. it won't be possible next congress, or virtually any future congress unless there's a crisis that inspires -- indeed, requires -- bold action.

Like historically high premium hikes for 2011?

no, i don't think that would be enough. i think there have been "historically high premium hikes" before 2011.

i think this also sums it up. it's from a TPM report about totally unacceptable, ugly slurs hurled today at rep. frank and lewis:

"This is incredible," House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) told reporters of the slurs. "It's shocking to me." He said he hadn't heard such vitriol since March 15, 1960 when he was protesting segregation laws that forced him to sit in the back of buses. "A lot of us have been saying for a long time that much of this, much of this, is not about health care at all," Clyburn said. "I think a lot of those people today demonstrated this is not about health care."

What is it about, a reporter asked?

"It's about trying to extend a basic fundamental right to people who are less powerful."

. . . and that's why it's so hard to convince many people to support HCR. many of those "tea-partiers" see it as extending yet another entitlement to "others," and they're "sick of it" (which also explains why many "tea partiers" support social-security, but hate HCR).

http://www.balloon-juice.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/teabagger_browning.jpg

classy misunderstanding of democracy there.

http://www2.nationalreview.com/dest/2010/03/20/descriptionimg00250201003201322.jpg

someone help me parse that sign?

I'm assuming it was a brain tumour.

Is that a pro or con sign? Does the sign mean "lucky I had cancer last year ... before I lost my insurance"? Or "Lucky I had cancer last year ... before the Commie government could invade my privacy and help me pay for it"? I sadly assume the latter.

the bumper stickers are the best

http://wutbumperstickers.com/c/vote_for_obama_thanks_asshole_bumper_sticker-p128332074008619969tmn6_400.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ovHtIz6mL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

http://images2.cafepress.com/product/402080002v3_225x225_Front.jpg

big day doods BIG DAY gettin amped ovr here

bumper sticker should read 'if so, thanks a lot. asshole.'

If this passes, the real bouquets go to Nancy Pelosi, who's the most effective Speaker of any party in my lifetime (even Tip O'Neill caved to Reagan one too many times).

yeah says here she sonned rahm et al over some incrementalist beef back when everyone was spazzing abt scott brown http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34753.html

yeah pelosi's looking amazing now. tbf, those articles this morning also praised obama himself for insisting on bold action (even tho he wavered and his advisers -- e.g., RE -- counseled him to act piecemeal, if at all).

funny how everything turned on this vote. obama will either be a hero/bold leader for his "remarkable" job getting this passed, or a goat/failed president for not getting this passed.

'nothing succeeds like success'

Dan, that kind of polarization has been applied to nearly everything he does!

OTOH they might find something else to do, it's NASCAR season soon, right?

Stupak is YES.

WOW. what did we have to give up to get that -- the promised executive order reaffirming the hyde amendment?

(xp to adam): when you say "nearly everything he does," you mean the stimulus bill, i guess? few presidents, it seems to me, pass two pieces of such sweeping legislation in their first year in office, so i suppose turning those two bills into make-or-break moments for the presidency makes sense. i guess my feeling is that the stimulus was what obama was elected to do (everyone knew it was coming; it was the democratic alternative, compared to the "do-nothing" hooverism that i guess was the GOP's suggested response), so getting it passed is a less crucial moment for his presidency.

Yeah pretty much it is the reaffirmation. Best description of it I've read so far is that it saves face for Stupak.

wow, a "sweeping" transfer of wealth to insurance companies w/ no mechanism to control prices, i am so damn impressed. so AMPED if you listen to Chuck Todd or whatev the fuck that guy's name is.

xp

And they couldn't've done it without your idealistic positivity, Morbz!

hey morbs heres some info on prices/cost controls in the bill, enjoy http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/12/five_cost_controls_in_the_sena.html

Anyway Stupak apparently still waffling! Who knows. Kinda suspect he just wants to be the deciding vote.

he nixed reports of his voting yes?!?

maybe he feels politically vulnerable, and is waiting to see if the democrats need his vote. as i understand it, pelosi's doling out "passes" to certain democrats who are battling for survival in conservative districts.

or maybe he's just a self-absorbed gasbag.

stupak has been saying things that make it sound like he really wants to vote yes, but obvs hes sort of painted himself into a corner w/all the nonsensical abortion grandstanding

Baird and Giffords have announced yes.

Good luck USA <3

lol, not sure what you mean, dowd.

And apparently Stupak is just haggling over the EO wording still. Figures.

pelosi/lewis & others in the leadership deliberately walked straight through the crowd of tea party protestors on the way to the capitol just a few minutes ago. hah

(watching megyn on fox, who just showed a clip of a few gop leaders at the mics and said they were being cheered.. now has on larry sabato to explain why the gop will win big in november. what does he even know? i don't believe it)

holy christ, has Pelosi or Hoyer ever asked one of their staff members to print copies of the Hyde Amendment and taped it to poster boards? What the hell is Stupak's problem?

really? seems likely they will (mid-term election against the party controlling the white house).

(xp to daria)

they'll work something out with stupak. fwiw i saw him on hardball early last week and it seemed like even then, it was pretty clear he did want the health care bill to pass. wonder if at this point it isn't mostly about.. how he backed himself into a corner and wants to save face, idk

also the GOP's nutty base -- angry white people fearing the loss of "their" country -- tend to vote.

well, gop prob gains some seats, but i don't expect a 94 level meltdown at all. and there's a LOT of time between now and november and people have short memories.

and yeah their nutty base tends to vote, but now i think ours might have a reason to show up as well, what with something actually getting done.

agreed that the best thing for democrats now is pass HCR fast, then have 10 jobs bills pass between now and november.

also, i have a feeling you're right about the democratic base possibly coming out to vote, too. we'll see a lot of crazy, wingnutty talk over the summer, which should anger/scare the democratic base.

at least i'm hoping you're right about that.