Jon Stewart Still Going After Fox

Very funny clip of Jon taking Fox to task over their "not news" hours.

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Scozzafava Is Out

Interesting twist in the NY-23 special election. Dede Scozzafava, the moderate republican, is withdrawing from the race with less than a week to go. So much for moderate republicans.

What does this mean for the conservative and the dem? Most likely the repub voters will go for the crazy candidate. Then, I think the dem will lose and the ultra-conservatives in the party will use this as a rallying cry for other extremely right people to come forward pulling the repub party farther to the right.

This is a major problem because without moderates in the republican party, they will continue to isolate themselves to the south or odd districts in the through out the country but never building a national movement. We just had 8 years of fanaticism and Americans are just too moderate for more helpings of crazy right now.

Gavin Newsom Is Out

Mayor of San Francisco Gavin Newsom is out of the California governors race. He announced on friday saying:

"With a young family and responsibilities at City Hall, I have found it impossible to commit the time required to complete this effort the way it needs to - and should be - done,"

His polling numbers were in the tank and his bank account didn't have enough zeros to inspire him to continue. The other major problem was banging his best friend's wife and how that will be used in the campaign.

Swarzenneger's Rude Response

Got this from Political wire. Arnold sent a rejection veto letter to the members of the California State Assembly about a bill. Check out the left margin.

Sen Joe Lieberman Sucks

If there was anyone who deserves to be taken out to the woodshed it is Joe Lieberman. From Politico:

"Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Tuesday that he’d back a GOP filibuster of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s health care reform bill. "

Tell me again why we didn't kick this joker out of his committee positions?

NY 23 Special Election Bad for Repubs

Back story for NY 23. There are 3 people running. A dem Bill Owens, a repub Dierdre Scozzafava, and an independent Doug Hoffman (conservative party). This district is pretty conservative but not staunchly conservative. The dem is not important. Its the repub versus the independent. The repub is a pretty liberal repub. Too liberal for Club for Growth (uber conservative organization) so they (along with Sara Palin and a couple other crazies) endorsed the independent. The moderate repubs in the party have endorsed Dierdre.

What this comes down to is this, if Doug wins it will empower the ultra conservatives within the repub party to demand more crazy-right repubs to run for office. It will, in essence, drag the party more to the right. This would be great for dems. Yes, they lose this one but they didn't have the seat to begin with.

This election could make it all the more harder for the republican party to seem more moderate. Repubs have lost the last two election cycles because of their extreme views and incompetance. This election will hopefully make the repub party shift more towards the right, becoming less palatable by the American public. Right now repubs are in the crapper with public opinion and this election will only further make them undigestable to mainstream America.

Good Insider Piece About How The Public Option Made It

Very interesting interview with Sen Chuck Schumer on how the public option got into the bill. The quote is long but good. Check it out over at TPM.

This evening I spoke with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who was in that infamous Thursday night meeting with President Obama and other Senate leaders--and who has been one of the most persistent advocates of a public option on Capitol Hill. As Schumer explains it, the disagreement between the White House and Senate wasn't substantive so much as it was tactical: The White House had its doubts that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid could really get 60 votes for a public option with an opt out for states.

"The President listened very carefully," Schumer said in an interview moments ago. "He wanted to make sure that the strategy upon which we were embarking had the ability to carry through."

Schumer has been at the center of the fight over the public option from the earliest days of the health care debate--always there to pull it back from the brink when it at times seemed on the verge of collapse. This situation was no different. After the Thursday meeting, four sources in different Democratic offices told me that the White House had suggested they believed a strategy of pursuing Sen. Olympia Snowe's preferred compromise--a triggered public option--might be an easier path to 60 votes. In the end, though, Schumer and the rest of leadership seem to have prevailed upon President Obama that they've picked the right strategy.

What is so interesting about this is that I feel the leadership for the bill did not come from Obama. This early in his presidency, it feels as if he's being too cautious. It might be, to be honest, the move of someone who is showing that he's a bit young in politics. It was the senate and house (of all places!) that showed the leardership here. Which is scary because I always felt the houses couldn't lead a horse to water.

I am sure there is a lot more to this and I can't wait to read the book about it. I do feel as if we are at the precipice of a really good thing to happen to the United States. We are seeing an institution being formed that our kids will look at as if it is part of their rights. Like medicare, social security, civil rights and the lot.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) Uncommitted

Staring history in the face, Dem Sen Blanche Lincoln says she is not committed to a yes or no vote on the health care bill. Can you believe this? The single biggest piece of legislation for the dems in DECADES and this senator is riding the fence.

From TPM:

"When asked if she would vote yes on a procedural motion (cloture) to bring the bill to a vote, a spokeswoman said Lincoln "has not committed her vote to anyone.'"

The polling in her reelection is not good and she doesn't see the opportunity here. The south has huge numbers of uninsured and she could be the one brining this to her state.

She is too damn worried about her seat. This is bigger than her seat. This is history.

Reid To Unveil Health Care Bill With Public Option

All things are pointing to a public option right now. Reid will give details about the health care bill going to the senate floor. It WILL include a public option with states given the option to opt out. My god, is this leadership? There are still a ton of hurdles but this is VERY promising.

From Politico:

"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will announce this afternoon that he plans to push ahead with a public option vote – most likely one that includes an opt-out provision for states – even though he's currently short several votes for passage, according to people close to the situation."

Will it get the 60 votes. Right now, only 57-58 votes of the 60 needed are for the bill.