The GOP Are Starting To Lose It

The GOP are up in arms that the stimulus didn't involve them. Are they crazy? 42% of the stimulus are tax cuts (the only way to get the three repub senators votes (Snowe, Collins, and Specter) necessary to end debate.) Even Pelosi is pissed off with the cuts to education and other things in order to get necessary votes.

Is it over? Hell no. It then goes to committee so that the house and senate can work out a compromise. But again, I don't understand what the repubs are thinking. At no point have they taken into consideration the tanking economy or the welfare of the nation. While I don't think dems always have all the answers, at the end of the day they govern better than the repubs.

Quote of the Day

From John Cole:

"I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane. Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax. If you can figure out a way to split the difference there and find a meal you will both enjoy, you can probably figure out how bipartisanship is going to work the next few years."


Too funny.

Economy Kinda Tanking

I hate to be gloom and doom but a graphic does it best when trying to get a picture of the economy. This is from the Times. Check out 2008. I hope none of you were in those columns.

Update: It seems like the repubs are taking a HUGE gamble with the future of their party and America. The overall sense around the US is that the repubs are obstructing the stimulus. They really need to take a step back and look at what they are doing. Their potential "gain" from this gamble is hinged upon the US going, potentially, into a new depression. They will not be looked upon as saviors. I would think, they would be hated more because our economy right now is tied to Bush and the repubs. All their actions are just crazy if you ask me.

Obama's New Tone

For several weeks Obama has been nice and sweet to the repubs who have taken his niceness, rolled it up and crammed it in the toilet. Repubs, in their stupidity, have been picking out parts of the stimulus to paint the bill as overspending. But I guess the dictionary needs to be taken to the repubs, opened up and turned to the word "stimulus". Money is SPENT in a stimulus package. 

Obama, finally, on Thursday evening while addressing the DNC,  got tired of trying to bring everyone into the big tent and has now changed the tone towards rebups who are holding up his stimulus bill. At last he is blasting the repubs for their political gameing with America's future. They are gambling that the stimulus will fail and they will standing around saying "I told you so."

Some good comments:

“First of all I found this deficit when I showed up. I found this national debt doubled, wrapped in a big bow waiting for me when I stepped into the Oval Office,” 

“These aren’t just statistics. This is not a game, this is not a contest for who’s in power, who’s up and who’s down. These are your constituents. These are families you know and you care about. I believe it is important for us to set aside some of the gamesmanship in this town and get something done.”

“I don’t care whether you’re driving a hybrid or an SUV. If you’re headed for a cliff, you have to change direction. That’s what the American people called for in November, and that’s what we intend to deliver.” 

Really good. Check out bits of the speech above.

Good News for 2010 Census

The 2010 census will be reporting directly to the Obama white house. Why is this important? Well, with repub Gregg soon to be confirmed by the senate, the 2010 census, which is controlled by the dDepartment of Commerce, i.e. Gregg, would in effect controlled by a republican. 

Why is this bad? Well, the whole part of redistricting house seats is controlled by the census. So, with determing the population of people (with that the demographics) the states can then control how districts will be remade. This was done in 2000 when Bush stole the election. This allowed the repubs to redistrict in ways to make it more difficult for dems to win seats. 

This turned out to have short term gains but we all know what happened in 2006 and 2008. They lost their asses.

I agree with Obama's move to have the census report directly to him. We have worked to hard to have a republican in control of such a big political issues. 

Redistricting is also another important reason why controlling state governorships and state congresses is so important. 

Also, the GOP is pisses off about Obama's move. This is a twofer.

Justis Ginsburg Hospitalized

Terrible news for Ginsburg. She has been hospitalized for pancreatic cancer. She's also a survivor of colon cancer.

While this is tragic, it reminds me of how thoroughly relieved we elected Obama.

Reasons Daschle Withdrew

What I find very interesting as I read more about Daschle's withdraw is that he really didn't have anyone up in arms about his taxes and ties to the health care industry. Usually, repubs go to any camera/journalist and scream about the ineptitude of whomever. 

Based on the fact that Daschle was most likely going to get confirmed, I have to ask myself why?Now, Daschle said he didn't want to be a "distraction". That is similar to when politicians state they are quiting politics to "spend more time with family." (Which makes me laugh. When shit goes down for politicians they somehow discover new family members they must be with.)

Obama's reason was he wanted to change Washington and couldn't have a double standard. I think that is great but I also think that the reason repubs aren't screaming foul is because I think the repubs are gathering up chits to use later. The "scratch my back" technique that is prominent in washington. 

When Obama was faced with this, I don't think he could take these "favor collecting" for the repubs so early in his presidency. He would rather sacrifice Daschle now in order to save something down the line where the repubs might have wanted to cash in those chits.

Just thoughts

How Small the AP Is

The AP is going after Shepard Fairey the maker of "the" Obama poster after last week the original photo was found. Which happened to be taken by a AP photographer. (I blogged about the finding of the original photo here.)

Being married to a graphic designer, designs/photos are borrowed all the time and over time, working with whichever picture, it gets skewed. Which is important. From the little I understand, the image has to get reasonably skewed so as to show a new design. 

While the courts on copy written material tend to be very conservative (everyone remembers The Verve's song "Symphony" that was given to the Rolling Stones and they then sold it to a corporation.) It has been getting even worse than that recently.

The truth is, the AP has been losing subscriptions from major papers like crazy in the past several years and any money coming in, even from bullshit court cases like this, is worth the effort. 

Quote of the day

Just when  you thought you got rid of darth vader, here he is again talking about how the dems are doomed.

In commenting on the GOP's future he said  "I’d start to worry about it if I were a Democrat."

I had a good laugh at this one.

Why Daschle's Departure Hurts Us

Well, Tom Daschle is gone and that is not good for the health care movement. Healthcare reform does not need experts in health care. There are a ton of those people now and look where we are. It needs a majority of the senate, (like 60 dem senators) a dem president, and finally an expert on washington politics to easily move about the capital.

Tom filled this last slot. He was dem senate minority leader until he lost in 2004. He knew all the repubs and dems AND was well liked. (Being liked is critical because of the country club atmosphere that is the senate.)

When he withdrew his nomination, he set back the healthcare movement months maybe years. It will take some more time to find a successor and more time for the successor to establish him/herself. This was all preestablished with Tom. 

While it is bullshit to screw with the government out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, I still overlook that for the greater cause, national healthcare

Gregg Is Nominated, Lynch Appoints Another Repub

Ok, so Obama appointed NH senator Judd Gregg to commerce secretary and Gregg accepted. Great decision if you ask me. A moderate republican in a very blue new england state coming up for election in two years as well as being part of a minority that will have no power anytime soon. (There is writing on the wall and he had no problem reading it.)

So, that could have gotten the senate up to 60 dem seats but in order to avoid a huge fight with republicans an unknown agreenment was reached with the dem gov of New Hampshire and he's appointed  Bonnie Newman, a fellow republican Bonnie Newman. 

I do feel a great opportunity was missed here but Gregg did stipulate he would not take the appointment if it changed the balance of the senate. He did do right by the repubs. (weird he should do right by them. they have screwed the country up until now.)

That is the break down. 

Coleman's Court Victory Throw's Franken's Seate Seat in Doubt

Today, a Minnesota court ruled that another 4800 absontee ballots, initially rejected due to clerical error will be potentially reinstated. Coleman has to argue each one on their validity to be reinstated. This does not bode well for Franken. There are enough ballots there to topple Franken's lead. 

Does it mean Franken or Coleman will win. There is no telling. While I can't stand the thought of Coleman winning, I due agree with putting absontee ballots back into the mix. The ballots were wrongly rejected and I have to be consistant that every vote counts.

On the brighter side, a large chuck of the early voting absontee ballots went for Franken. I am not sure if these are early ballots but I do believe the last time wrongly rejected absontee ballots were reinstated, it definitely put Franken ahead. I hope/pray it continues. 

Daschle Withdrawls Nomination

This seems a bit odd because repubs have said nothing and Obama and other key dems were supporting him. It looks like there are more to his taxes than we see. Because if everything were there he would still be confirmed b/c he is liked in the senate. 

I guess we will have to wait for the other reasons not reported.