Let's Maybe Plow Congress: The Attack on Health Care Reform

Armed with new business cards and a supposed mandate to repeal "ObamaCare," Tennessee's freshly minted GOP congressional delegation is ready to take on the Affordable Care Act.

Reps. Diane Black and Scott DesJarlais are gearing up for the big vote. But Eighth District Rep. Stephen Fincher is already tamping down his fervent base's expectations.

Channel 4 has the scoop:

"It's going to be hard to repeal it," said Rep.-elect Stephen Fincher. "We are going to move forward and do what we can, but we are only the House of Representatives."

That's not what he said on the campaign trail! I believe his words were: plow congress. He certainly never said, "We'll maybe plow congress."

I'm sure the "Awe shucks it's going to be harder than I ever imagined" explanation will please the anti-Obama zealots who elected him.

Other than Steve Fincher running the risk of sounding like a seasoned politician, there is a real danger to repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Before you pull the repeal lever, ask yourself these questions:

• Should we unplug the Medicare Part D supplement and force Tennessee's 85,000 senior citizens in the donut hole, maybe your grandmother, to pay even more out of pocket expenses for their prescription drugs?
• Should health insurance companies be allowed to drop me from my plan because I got sick?
• Should insurance companies be allowed to deny coverage to parents who have a child suffering with cancer?

There are many more reasons for Tennesseans to support the Affordable Care Act (small business tax credits, no lifetime limits on coverage, affordable coverage for Tennesseans with pre-existing conditions) but these three seem to drive home my point.

So instead of beating the drum for repeal that it turns out you don't want -- call your newly elected congressman or congresswoman and tell them.

Here's what you'll say: "Hey, I just read this amazing blog post that explained a few of the benefits of health care reform and we should keep ObamaCare! In fact, I think you should read up about this thing too because it doesn't sound like you know what you're talking about. Keep up the good work!"

In the comments, let me know what lines you've used or heard to get health care reform opponents to button their lips.

Reverse Robin Hood

Sen. Bob Corker has been driving all over Tennessee giving a PowerPoint presentation about America's debt problem and his ideas to fix it.

In his snake oil plan, Corker says, everything is on the table and "we all must make sacrifices."**

**Except The Rich, like Corker.

Senator Bob favors extending the Bush tax breaks for the wealthiest 2 percent.

How does he plan to offset those tax breaks and balance the budget? By taking from Medicare and Social Security.

Take from the poor and give to the rich.

From News Channel 9 (http://m.newschannel9.com/news/senator-996155-bob-corker.html):

"Senator Corker said he believes the country has to act within three years or face catastrophic economic consequences. He said that means cutting federal spending from defense to social security and medicare.

"I don't think there's anything in our budgets that should be off the table," Senator Corker said.

But a number of people at Friday's town hall meeting said the middle class and elderly are being told to make the sacrifices while the wealthiest people get tax breaks.

"I think a lot of this will hit the middle class and elderly and my concern is the Republican Party has gone against the idea of taxing the wealthy," Roger Meyer said.

When talk about cutting so-called "entitlements" began some people walked out of the meeting while others applauded Frank Pate's comments.

"I'm 66 years old, worked all my life and I resent with great fervor the fact that I'm considered being a burden on the country in the name of entitlements," Pate said.

There was also opposition to extending tax cuts for the rich, which Senator Corker said he supports, even from people in the top 2% income bracket.

Change IS Coming to the GOP

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="289" caption="Sen. Graham, quietly trying to save the GOP"][/caption]

It's not the kind of change the GOP grand poobahs had hoped for, but it's definitely change.

That is to say, young conservatives are not falling in line with party talking points, specifically on global warming, says Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina in an interview with Paul Krugman at the Gray Lady:

“I have been to enough college campuses to know if you are 30 or younger this climate issue is not a debate. It’s a value. These young people grew up with recycling and a sensitivity to the environment — and the world will be better off for it. They are not brainwashed. ... From a Republican point of view, we should buy into it and embrace it and not belittle them. You can have a genuine debate about the science of climate change, but when you say that those who believe it are buying a hoax and are wacky people you are putting at risk your party’s future with younger people.”

I've seen this coming for a while. Republicans sticking to their tired neocon talking points are driving away intelligent people — and worst of all true conservatives.

Global warming is just one example, but you could easily lump in here: health care reform, same-sex marriage and, probably, abortion. These are all losing issues for GOP candidates as time marches on and they stay firmly put in the past.

Luxembourg-Sized Ice Block Breaks Away From Antarctica

Because these unbelievable ice fractures are happening more and more regularly, the news of theses fissures is getting low-priority placement.

Even when it's nothing shy of incredible to think a chunk of ice the size of a European country is now floating in the oceans, it will probably take a Texas-sized hunk of snow to grab headlines nowadays.

That said, I'm pointing out this article for two reasons:

This particular block of frozen water, scientists suggest, might change the circulation patterns in oceans, which could ultimately really screw with weather. That's flipping crazy.

The other piece I took from this article was the chutzpah of the AFP. Read this sentence:

Both natural cycles and manmade climate change contribute to the collapse ice shelves and glaciers.

Kudos to the AFP for the word choice. Among researchers and scientists studying glaciers, there is no debate about manmade climate change. So that's how you write it.

The rest of the media needs to grow a pair and stop kowtowing to the politics of it all.

It's nice to see the AFP writing in a way that doesn't allow climate change to get hijacked by Swift Vote-style aspersions and pumped-up rhetoric.

Think Progress Highlights Tennessee GOPocrisy

George Flinn, a Republican running to fill the seat being vacated by Rep. John Tanner, has taken a liking to his national party's passion for hypocrisy.

Think Progress reports that Flinn attacks the Recovery Act, better known as the stimulus, on his campaign Web site.

Funny considering Flinn, who also does business consulting at YourAmericanDream.com, suggests entrepreneurs should get busy applying for — you guessed it — stimulus money!

Think Progress also points to the fact that Flinn, in his capacity as a Shelby County Commissioner, voted to accept $1.6 million in federal dollars tied directly to the stimulus.

The GOP's Bacon Addiction

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="As seen in Washington, D.C., the Bacon Briefcase! Perfect for bringing the pork home to your congressional district."][/caption]

The Knoxville News Sentinel published the kind of story today that grates on my nerves to no end.

In a nut shell, the "fiscal conservatives" of my home state Tennessee are lining up to spend federal dollars. From the article:

"Our nation is sinking under a mountain of debt," said U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Chattanooga, who got nearly $4 million for various projects in his district. "While a very small percentage of the bill funded some worthwhile projects in Tennessee, the overall cost is way too high.

So there we have it. If I'm ever swimming, I hope Zack Wamp is not the lifeguard on duty. He says Uncle Sam is drowning, so the only appropriate thing to do? Hold his head under water.

What yanks my chain the most is the hypocrisy. Republicans conveniently forget their own rhetoric when it's time for funding requests. Yet that's all we hear from these clowns. "Spending is out of control, blah, blah, snore."

Spending is a big problem for the GOP. They love to hate it but can't help themselves, like teenagers with mommy and daddy's credit card.

These sorts of things live on though, and it's not to say it doesn't create an image problem. Spending habits will likely be talking points fodder for upcoming elections, especially when a "fiscal conservative" name is tied to the porky, bacony, greasy projects.

I hope they like this year's bacon because I suspect it will be the last year for pork under this president. Despite this year's omnibus bill, Obama has pledged to cut the fat in the future. So we might not see this much spending again until our next Republican administration.

Would You Rather?

Watch Elf, the 2003 Will Ferrell Christmas movie about a man who thinks he's an elf?



Or look for interesting kernals of political discourse from our nation's senators who are arguing over what to do with health care reform?



Believe it or not. Tonight. Christmastime nonsense wins me over.

Mad Lib Email Jokes

[caption id="attachment_108" align="alignleft" width="199" caption="The always inquisitive, governor-quitter Sarah Palin"][/caption]

A relative of mine forwarded me an e-mail with a joke about Obama. Boring. The prose was weak. The punch line was lacking. So I took some comedic liberties with the joke -- basically making it hilarious -- with only a few small revisions. The replacement words are in red.

Enjoy!

With children talking about Sarah Palin's new book Going Rogue, a teacher asked her sixth grade class how many of them were Palin fans.

Not really knowing what a Palin fan is, but wanting to be liked by the teacher, all the kids raised their hands except  for Little BJ.

The teacher asked Little BJ why he has decided to be different. Little BJ said, "Because I'm not a Palin fan."

The teacher asked, "Why aren't you a Palin fan?"

BJ said, "Because I'm a Democrat."

The teacher asked him why he's a Democrat.

Little BJ answered, "Well, my mom's a Democrat and my dad's a Democrat, so I'm a Democrat."

Annoyed by this answer, the teacher asked, "If your mom was a MORON and your dad was an IDIOT, what would that make you?"

With a big smile, Little BJ replied, "That would make me a Palin fan."

***

Pretty great, right?

Whoa! Nellie

The first woman to serve as a governor in the United States was Nellie Tayloe something. She had two last names.

The second one wasn't important.

Anyway. She was elected in 1924.

That's just four years after the United States ratified the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. That's pretty close to 1917, but I digress.

She took office in 1925 -- a full 50 years before a woman would be elected governor of Conneticut.

Woot! Woot! Suck it, Nutmeggers.

Earthly Uncooling

More startling climate change news that nobody is reporting.

The TG Daily reports:

Antarctica’s glaciers may be retreating at a much faster pace than previously believed, a new study released by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) indicates. One major ice shelf has completely disappeared and another shelf three times the size of Rhode Island has broken off since 1986, the maps reveal.

If I know wing nuts, I'm sure they'd attack the credibility of the U.S. Geological Survey, a research-based arm of the Department of Interior, a.k.a. puppets controlled by the Penguin Agenda.

Then they'll gas about the weather. "It was 30 degrees in Nashville today and it's April. I'm cold. Where's the global warming?!? Wah wah wah."

Weather patterns and climate change are  not the same.

I'm not an alarmist, but this news is disturbing. I think reporters really picked up on global warming back when Al won his Oscar. But now. Eh.

We've got Wall Street's melt down to cover. No interest.

Besides, there's no real villain with global warming and no real chance for a coordinated and meaningful response in the foreseeable future, so it's easier this way.

As a side note, it was also easier for the good people of Germany to go along with the Nazi movement or do nothing to stop it.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Map shows their research."][/caption]

Krugman and the liberal media?

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="328" caption="Timother Geithner could use a liberal media right now."][/caption]

I have a hypothesis about political hacks and talking heads (mostly the big dogs, small town bloggers like myself don't count): Liberal pundits are more likely to attack the actions and plans of Democrats than wingnuts are with regards to Republicans.

 

Or maybe more to the point, when a liberal attacks a liberal, apparently, it's news. 

I have no evidence. Just one, single observation. 

On March 23, 2009, Paul Krugman slammed the Geithner plan to buy up toxic assets off the banks books. (And I don't even have an opinion about the plan, so that's not relevant.)

A Google News search at Midnight showed Krugman's name was mention in about 4,000 articles in the last hour. And a vast majority of them, gauging from a precursory skimming of a few pages, are about how he's blasting Obama's toxic asset plan.

Why is this newsworthy?

Question One: Is he the only damn economist available? Reporters, haven't you ever heard of HARO? 

Answer One: No. But didn't you hear about all the staff cut backs. It's easier just to rehash the wire story, or worse, Drudge.

Question Two: When in the world does the media ever give a crap about Paul Krugman. 

Answer Two: They don't. He gases everyday about something within the confines of his blog The Conscience of a Liberal on NYTimes.com and it hardly ever makes a blip.

Sure the media covered the story about Paul winning the Nobel Prize, but it's all about placement. I guarantee his Nobel Prize win didn't lead the newscast.

So where is the so-called liberal media when Tim Giethner could use it? 

It's a farce. It's a red herring. It's literally a phrase Republicans made up in the '70s to have a scapegoat for why their dirty, secretive president couldn't get any love.

And even though I believe a slim majority of the media probably are more liberal in slant, I think news coverage is slanted to the conservative. It has to be so they can say their actions are beyond reproach.

And this ties into the overall theory here: Liberals are much more likely to be critical of liberals than is true for conservatives judging the actions of conservatives.

JFK. LBJ. FDR. BHO.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="160" caption="If you don't know, President Barack Obama's middle name is Hussein, which means "good-looking.""][/caption]

A few days ago, the communications chief for the Tennessee GOP commented on my blog post which called the actions of the state's Republican leadership childish and self-defeating with regards to the speaker of the house fiasco.

I accused the Tennessee GOP of referring to President Barack Obama as Barack — Hussein — Obama as many times as possible for political gain, playing on the obvious name association with the deposed Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein.

To clear the record of our honorable, mostly laughable state GOP,  Mr. Bill Hobbs said in a comment that I was mistaken about how many times Hussein had been used:

"False. Completely false.

The TRP used Obama’s middle name the exact same number of times that Obama himself used it in taking the oath of office.

ONE TIME."

Now it's at least two. Today in the City Paper, I read this:

While Sen. John McCain “repudiates” using Sen. Barack Obama’s middle name of Hussein, the Tennessee Republican Party is embracing it.

The Tennessee GOP sent out an anti-Obama press release Monday in which the Illinois Democrat was referred to as “Barack Hussein Obama.” ...

When asked if Obama’s middle name though – the same name as former Iraqi president and tyrant Saddam Hussein – gave off a different connotation than others, Smith suggested that Obama’s parents needed to be contacted.

“You can call his momma and daddy on that one,” Smith said."

Stay classy, Robin Smith, chairwoman of aforementioned state party. Good grief with this. Where to start?

First, Smith and the Tennessee Republican Party are naive to think this crap works (ahem, election?).

Maybe they are just sore losers and are reverting to (what they are denying is) bush-league name calling. No matter what they say, it's name calling. Point: Calling someone "Hitler" would also be a negative moniker.

Maybe, just maybe, the TRP is actually noble in their Husseining around. Perhaps they are trying to take the sting out of the president's middle name by repeating it until the hurt of hundreds of thousands slain Iraqis is gone. They are taking back "Hussein" for the good guys.

Let's explore the third — and most likely — reason the state GOP keeps on the Hussein train:

• In Arabic, Hussein means "good-looking." Barack: guilty as charged.


• Hussein is a popular name in Sweden. It ranked highest in 1999, when it was the 168th most popular name for baby boys in Sweden. In 2006, it ranked at number 206. I don't see why they are trying to get it good with the Swedes, but I'm monitoring the situation.


• GOPers are trying to give some props to fashion designer, Hussein Chalayan. Tennessee GOPers could use some style. OH SNAP!

With the venom gone and Hussein claimed for everyone, I'm going to start using the president's middle name in my everyday vernacular.

"Hey, bro. That shirt is real spiffy. The gals are going to think your incredibly Hussein."

"OMG. P Diddy and Miley Cyrus are here. This party's Hussein."

"The Tennessee GOP is having a bake sale, but those cookies aren't Hussein enough for me."

Heck, the popularity of the Tennessee GOP's "Hussein" movement might prompt Obama to pull a Coolidge. His given name was John Calvin Coolidge, but he started going by just his middle name. I like this option, but it's not plausible because the name "Barack" is perhaps too awesome.

But there is one thing this "Hussien" deal lays out perfectly. It gives historians the option of referring to Obama by three letters, a designation reserved for great presidents. JFK. FDR. LBJ. And now, BHO. (To be fair, Abe Lincoln and George Washington didn't have middle names.)

A conversation coming to a water cooler near you:

"Lunch today? KFC?"

"You're SOL. I brought a BLT. So what do you make of W's legacy?"

"From my POV, W was a WMD who gave the USA a figurative STD, leaving the economy DOA for BHO."

"LOL. Agreed. He only watched out for VIPs, leaving my IRA TKO'd and me with IOUs."

"We'd be better off if W was MIA."

"ROTFL. What are your acronymical thoughts on BHO?"

"BHO's TCB. He's fixing W's eight years of WTF with a BFB that will finally give taxpayers some TLC and ROI."

"On second thought, I will go to KFC. With BHO's tax breaks I have an extra $8 bucks this week."

--

Extra reading:

Juan Cole blogs he's proud of his president's name in "Barack Hussein Obama, Omar Bradley, Benjamin Franklin and other Semitically Named American Heroes."