Category: Republicans

Help Defeat Joe Lieberman (Video)

Posted on by TL

Moveon.org launched a campaign a few days ago to raise $400,000 to defeat Joe Lieberman, vowing to strip him of his leadership post and fight his re-election. Thursday, they announced they’ve raised a million dollars. Check out puppet Joe asking for a pony and four more inches. The unending gall.

Tell President Obama and Congress not to let Joe Lieberman gut health care reform. We’re counting on them to fight for real reform. Call Congress at (202) 224-3121 and the White House at (202) 456-1111. Pass this video on.

Krugman: Pass the Health Insurance Reform Bill

Posted on by TL

First, do no harm.

That’s Hippocrates. Not Joe Lieberman.

So, to the United States Senate, I say, "Do no harm!" Pass the current bill before you.

From Paul Krugman at the NYTimes:

A message to progressives: By all means, hang Senator Joe Lieberman in effigy. Declare that you’re disappointed in and/or disgusted with President Obama. Demand a change in Senate rules that, combined with the Republican strategy of total obstructionism, are in the process of making America ungovernable.

But meanwhile, pass the health care bill.

Yes, the filibuster-imposed need to get votes from “centrist” senators has led to a bill that falls a long way short of ideal. Worse, some of those senators seem motivated largely by a desire to protect the interests of insurance companies — with the possible exception of Mr. Lieberman, who seems motivated by sheer spite.

But let’s all take a deep breath, and consider just how much good this bill would do, if passed — and how much better it would be than anything that seemed possible just a few years ago. With all its flaws, the Senate health bill would be the biggest expansion of the social safety net since Medicare, greatly improving the lives of millions. Getting this bill would be much, much better than watching health care reform fail.

Pass the bill. Make it so. Do it. Do it, now.

Pass the most monumental health insurance reform in the history of the United States of America. Make history.

Do it. Now.

Franken Denies Lieberman ‘Additional Moment’ to Continue Speaking the Senate Floor

Posted on by TL

You go, Al.

We all know these lengthy speeches by the Republicans are an attempt to slow down debate so there is no health insurance reform at all. Let Sen. Lieberman go pout when he finally loses this fight, and all those campaign contributions from the for-profit health insurance industry.

True Health Care Reform: No For-Profit Health Insurance Companies

Posted on by TL

Some health care reform ramblings.

The Republicans are crying about having to read a 2,000 page bill. Locally, Republican Isaac Hayes, challenging Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. for Congress, has lamented Jackson’s support of health care reform. In a strange move, on his campaign blog, Hayes reproduces a press release from Jackson’s Web page where Jackson calls the passage of the House health care reform bill, “A monumental and historic step forward.” The press release is quite inspirational:

“A MONUMENTAL AND HISTORIC STEP FORWARD”

Jackson votes for landmark health care overhaul legislation

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. voted today in strong support of legislation to overhaul the nation’s health care system — the Affordable Health Care for America Act. He called passage of the bill “a monumental, historic step forward.”

“For nearly 100 years, politicians of all stripes and in both parties have attempted to bring comprehensive reform to our nation’s health care system. Now, a century later, we — at long last — are delivering on the promise of making quality, affordable health care available to all Americans.

“This is change we can believe in, progress we can count on and a right we should all enjoy.

“This landmark bill reinforces the promise of our founding documents. It renews the meaning of our creed and reflects the enduring, eternal truth that We all are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable Rights. We should all have health care.

“In passing this bill, we begin a new era in America. Gone will be the days when citizens go untreated, becoming sicker and sicker because they can’t afford to see the doctor or get medicine. Gone will be the days when they can’t get coverage because of a previous illness or condition. Gone will be the days when Americans are at risk of falling into poverty or going to an early grave because health care was delayed, dropped or denied.”

“We are a better nation than that,” Jackson said.

“We can cure the sick. We can help those in need. We each can pursue our own paths and yet still be our brother’s keeper. That’s at the heart of this reform. That’s at the heart of America.

“This health care reform bill builds on what works and fixes what’s broken. It provides more security and stability to those who have health insurance and expands access to affordable, quality coverage to those who don’t. It does this in a way that allows the American people to see the doctor they want, for the health care they need, in a revamped system that is more efficient, less costly and of higher quality.

“This reform is urgent. It is indisputable. It forms a more perfect Union.”

I would not be quoting my opponent on my Web site, especially when my opponent is as erudite as Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.

Hayes deserves to lose.

Here’s a start on proper health care reform: Congress must make for-profit health care insurance companies illegal. If you want to sell bowling balls for profit, go for it. If you want to do health insurance for profit, forget it.

That would be a start.

Dr. No: Joe Lieberman Loves Campaign Cash More Than Human Lives

Posted on by TL

From the Ron Reagan show on Air America Radio:

Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman has finally realized his life’s goal of becoming America’s foremost exemplar of hypocrisy and moral cowardice… and did I forget to mention dishonesty and small-minded spite? Let’s throw those in the mix as well.

A quick review: three months ago, Lieberman sat down with the Connecticut Post and reiterated his long-standing position that a Medicare buy-in should be available for people 55 to 64 years old

Again, this is something Lieberman has been saying for years: it was central to his health care platform when he was Al Gore’s running mate in 2000 and it was been his position ever since. That is, it was his position until it became part of the Senate’s proposed health care legislation. At that point, the guy who’d made a Medicare buy-in the centerpiece of his health care reform philosophy suddenly morphed into Dr. No.

On CBS last weekend, in one brief outpouring of nausea-inducing self-interest, Lieberman managed to betray assurances he had reportedly given to the Senate leadership and a number of his Senate colleagues; contradict his own oft-stated position; and, just for good measure, attempt to mislead the country about the fiscal consequences of a Medicare buy-in. Contrary to what Lieberman is currently pretending to believe, a buy-in would not, according to the Congressional Budget Office, drive up the deficit.

What’s going on here? Having heard no better explanation, I currently subscribe to what has become the conventional wisdom about the Senate’s selfish pain-in-the-ass-in-chief: Lieberman is still piqued at Democrats for not only abandoning him (for the Democratic candidate) during his near-loss in his 2006 reelection race in Connecticut, but for not backing him as the candidate of choice for the Democratic Presidential nomination back in 2004. Anyone who witnessed his cozy “debate” with Dick Cheney in 2000 will have no trouble imagining why Democrats picked someone else as their standard-bearer.

Lieberman loves campaign cash more than human lives.

Read more here.

Gotta Love U.S. Senator Al Franken, Democrat

Posted on by TL

I love United States Senator Al Franken. I wish Senator Dick Durbin had his, well, chutzpha.

From ENESWPF:

Senate Republicans, who have been taking heat for fighting an amendment to protect rape victims, are now lashing out at Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) for even proposing the measure in the first place.

In October, Franken introduced an amendment that would deny funding to defense contractors that “restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court.” Franken was inspired by the case of Jamie Leigh Jones, a former employee of KBR (previously a subsidiary of Halliburton), who “was gang raped by her co-workers” while stationed in Iraq.When Jones returned to the U.S., KBR tried to prevent her from taking the case to court. The measure to punish such practices passed, with 30 out of 40 Republicans voting against it.

Today, Politico reports that conservative Senators blame Franken for the backlash they have faced. Apparently, Franken isn’t doing enough to defend those Republicans who fought his proposal to protect women like Jones.Moreover, some of them say, the amendment was really just a “partisan” trap meant to embarrass the Republicans who opposed it:

“I don’t know what his motivation was for taking us on, but I would hope that we won’t see a lot of Daily Kos-inspired amendments in the future coming from him,” said South Dakota Sen. John Thune, No. 4 in the Senate Republican leadership. “I think hopefully he’ll settle down and do kind of the serious work of legislating that’s important to Minnesota.” […]

Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), who also voted against the amendment, said, “from what I know of” Franken, he “expected” such tactics. […]

“It was partisan – and he knew it,” said Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). “That’s exactly what I’d expect.”

That’s our Al. Completely and totally brilliant.

Can’t wait until he is Senate Majority Leader Al Franken. He’d be incredible.

Thanks, Al.

NYTimes: Blackwater Guards Tied to Covert Raids by C.I.A.

Posted on by TL

From the New York Times:

Private security guards from Blackwater Worldwide participated in some of the C.I.A.’s most sensitive activities — clandestine raids with agency officers against people suspected of being insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan and the transporting of detainees, according to former company employees and intelligence officials.

The raids against suspects occurred on an almost nightly basis during the height of the Iraqi insurgency between 2004 and 2006, with Blackwater personnel playing central roles in what company insiders called “snatch and grab” operations, the former employees and current and former intelligence officers said.

Several former Blackwater guards said that their involvement in the operations became so routine that the lines supposedly dividing the Central Intelligence Agency, the military and Blackwater became blurred. Instead of simply providing security for C.I.A. officers, they say, Blackwater personnel at times became partners in missions to capture or kill militants in Iraq and Afghanistan, a practice that raises questions about the use of guns for hire on the battlefield.

Separately, former Blackwater employees said they helped provide security on some C.I.A. flights transporting detainees in the years after the 2001 terror attacks in the United States.

The secret missions illuminate a far deeper relationship between the spy agency and the private security company than government officials have previously acknowledged. Blackwater’s partnership with the C.I.A. has been enormously profitable for the North Carolina-based company, and became even closer after several top agency officials joined Blackwater. “It became a very brotherly relationship,” said one former top C.I.A. officer. “There was a feeling that Blackwater eventually became an extension of the agency.”

"…a very brotherly relationship."

This raises concerns about the extent to which private security firms have been involved in offensive military and intelligence operations. The firms were hired for defensive guard duty, the NYTimes says.

Read more here.

Why Do Republicans Oppose Al Franken’s Anti-Rape Ammendment?

Posted on by TL

I’m trying to figure this one out.

Why, exactly, are Republicans in Congress having such a tough time wrapping their heads around Sen. Al Franken’s anti-rape amendment? Could it be that they have friends at KBR and Halliburton who might suddenly be held accountable for the heinous crime of rape?

From ENEWSPF:

Senate Republicans, who have been taking heat for fighting an amendment to protect rape victims, are now lashing out at Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) for even proposing the measure in the first place.

In October, Franken introduced an amendment that would deny funding to defense contractors that "restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court." Franken was inspired by the case of Jamie Leigh Jones, a former employee of KBR (previously a subsidiary of Halliburton), who "was gang raped by her co-workers" while stationed in Iraq.When Jones returned to the U.S., KBR tried to prevent her from taking the case to court. The measure to punish such practices passed, with 30 out of 40 Republicans voting against it.

Today, Politico reports that conservative Senators blame Franken for the backlash they have faced. Apparently, Franken isn’t doing enough to defend those Republicans who fought his proposal to protect women like Jones. Moreover, some of them say, the amendment was really just a "partisan" trap meant to embarrass the Republicans who opposed it:

"I don’t know what his motivation was for taking us on, but I would hope that we won’t see a lot of Daily Kos-inspired amendments in the future coming from him," said South Dakota Sen. John Thune, No. 4 in the Senate Republican leadership. "I think hopefully he’ll settle down and do kind of the serious work of legislating that’s important to Minnesota." […]

Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), who also voted against the amendment, said, "from what I know of" Franken, he "expected" such tactics. […]

"It was partisan – and he knew it," said Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). "That’s exactly what I’d expect."

Thune did not elaborate on why protecting victims of sexual assault isn’t "serious work," nor did Coburn explain how a measure that garnered support from 10 Republicans — a quarter of the caucus — was "partisan."

Read more here.

After reading, ask yourself, who would oppose an anti-rape amendment?

Study: Senate Health Bill Brings No Big Cost Rise in U.S. Premiums

Posted on by TL

The Senate health care bill looks better and better every day, and Republican objections ring more and more hollow.

From the New York Times:

The Congressional Budget Office said Monday that the Senate health bill could significantly reduce costs for many people who buy health insurance on their own, and that it would not substantially change premiums for the vast numbers of Americans who receive coverage from large employers.

The eagerly awaited report, which came as the Senate began debate on the legislation, provided Democrats with ammunition against Republicans who have criticized the bill on the ground that it would raise costs for a majority of Americans.

Centrist Democrats like Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, whose votes are vital to President Obama’s hopes of getting the bill approved, had feared that the measure would drive up costs for people with employer-sponsored coverage. After reading the budget office report, Mr. Bayh said he was reassured on that point.

Before taking account of federal subsidies to help people buy insurance on their own, the budget office said the bill would tend to drive up premiums. But as a result of the subsidies, it said, most people in the individual insurance market would see their costs decline, compared with the costs expected under current law. The subsidies, a main feature of the bill, would cost the government nearly $450 billion in the next 10 years and would cover nearly two-thirds of premiums for people who receive them.

We are on the verge of historic health care reform in the United States.

Keep the fire burning.

More here.